


Watch Over Me (Overwatch FanFiction)

by Hope_Ivery_OW273



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, F/M, Multi, Romance, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2018-08-17 05:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 106,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8132869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hope_Ivery_OW273/pseuds/Hope_Ivery_OW273
Summary: Hope Ivery has been struggling to find a job ever since she graduated university. She gets by anyway possible that involve computers or hacking, doing repair jobs for her neighbors, or anything in between. One day while taking a walk across the beach in her home town, she discovers Winston, an ex-Overwatch agent, hiding out in a abandon facility. Hope convinces Winston to hire her as his assistant, in exchange for not revealing his location to the authorities. What begins as a simple interning job, grows into something much more bigger and better than Hope could ever imagine.





	1. Hope Ivery

**_"Oh, watch over me,_  
While you choose who you're going to be.  
Oh, watch over me,  
While you show the globe what you're going to be." - Dan Bull**

"Here are your things, Mr. O'Conner," I smiled politely, handing the man a bag.

I stood in front of a two story house, the outside painted white while the front door was a bright cherry red. The man at the door looked to be in his early forties. He had slightly tanned skin with brown hair, wore a white dress shirt with black pants and shoes.

Mr. O'Conner reached into the bag, ruffling through the belongings before looking back up at me. He nodded with approval. "Thank you very much, Ms. Ivery."

"It was nothing, really," I assured the man, "happy to help."

"Kids! Come get your things!" The man shouted, poking his head inside the foyer of the house.

A pair of squeals could be heard as a boy and a girl came rushing to the door. Mr. O'Conner pulled out a pair of handheld gaming devices, handing them to his children. Their faces lit up once they finally held their precious technological possessions after nearly a week of impatiently waiting. Before they looked like they were ready to be taken to the dump! Screens were cracked, buttons were missing, one of them was even nearly split in half! Now they looked completely brand new, like they were just bought from the store.

"Thank you, Hope!" They cheered.

"You're very welcome," I replied, my smile growing ever so slightly.

The two children scurried off deeper into the house as Mr. O'Conner handed the bag back to me before reaching into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. "I owe you big time, Hope. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep kids entertained nowadays?"

"They weren't that bad, were they?" I questioned, raising a brow at the man.

He glanced my way, giving me a blank stare.

I shook my head. "Never mind, don't answer that."

"Here you are," He spoke, pulling out five twenty dollar bills and extending the money towards me, "buy yourself something nice."

"Hundred?!" I exclaimed, snatching the money, "but I only charged you half of that for the repairs!"

"Call it a tip for getting them fixed so quickly," The man shrugged.

"They're gaming systems, not super computers," I giggled, stuffing the money in my pocket.

"That they are," Mr. O'Conner chuckled in reply. He took a step back inside the house, placing a hand on the door, "have a good night, Hope."

"You too, Mr. O'Conner," I waved, stepping down the front steps, "good night!"

The man waved goodbye as he shut the door. I turned around, making my way across the driveway and out into the street, zipping up my leather jacket as a chilly breeze whirled by me, blowing my hair in the wind. It can get quite cold in Vancouver, especially during the fall. There's that, and there's the chance you live right near the ocean.

But I had to admit, the view along the pier was pretty cool. Even more fantastic if it's a full moon.

As I walked along the pier, I took the time to shove the bag I used to carry the game systems back into my backpack before pulling out my headset, plugging it into my phone. Music blared in my ears as I walked to the beat of the song that was currently playing.

I reached into my pocket, pulling out the money Mr. O'Conner gave me as I counted the bills. I still couldn't believe he had given me this much!

"I must be better at repairing stuff that I thought," I quietly muttered to myself.

Reaching over to the left side pocket of my backpack, I unzipped it, pulling out my wallet as I quickly shoved the money inside. Inside my little pocket bank were gift cards I had horded over the years, saving them in case I run out on cash, some loose change, my health card, and my old college student ID card.

**Name: Hope Ivery  
Program: Computer Engineering  & Programming  
Year: 2075-2076**

It had been two months since I graduated from VanTech. I was practically guaranteed a job after I graduated since I interned at a partnering company that supplied all the technology and equipment for my school. The company was also famous for making weapons and such for the world famous "Overwatch". They were an international squadron of heroes that saved the planet from the historic Omnic Crisis many years ago. After that, they fought against terrorists and have gone out of their way to help anyone in need. Sadly though, one thing led to another, and after the death of Overwatch's co-leaders, the United Nations created the "Petra Act", deeming all Overwatch activities illegal. That was just a little over 5 years ago. I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was a long time ago. 

Since Overwatch got shutdown, the company lost a lot of money and eventually filed into bankruptcy, and then right before I even graduated high school, the company shut down and went out of business.

  
Now? I'm basically out of a job.

It's not like I didn't try to apply anywhere else. I did. They just haven't really gotten back to me, that's all.

As I continued my walk down the pier, I noticed a fairly large piece of paper flying in the wind. It soared its way over towards me and smacked my left leg. I stopped, reaching down and clutched paper in my hand. Before tossing it away, I pulled it up in front of me to see what was on it. Here I was just moments ago thinking about Overwatch, and what do I see on the paper? Or should I say poster?

The Overwatch insignia was up on the upper right corner as a few of the heroes each looked up into the sky. I took in their appearances, recognizing each of them. There were Tracer, Mercy, Winston, Reinhardt, and one of the leaders of the organization, John "Jack" Morrison. My face saddened a bit when I saw him. One of the reasons Overwatch was shut down was because there was some sort of infighting between the two leaders, and they both perished along with the destruction of Overwatch Headquarters.

"I wonder what the other Agents have been up to?" I thought.

Tracer and McCree were a few of my favourites. I remember some old high school friends and I sharing a celebrity crush on the cowboy. He did seem like a charming man. Years ago I had a few posters here and there in my room, and even one in my high school locker. Heck if I can remember correctly, I'm pretty sure I was close to buying a Winston plushie at one point in time. Those were good times, however whenever there is good, there always seems to be a snippet of evil lurking in the shadows. Overwatch was most famous for ending the big Omnic Crisis and other terrorist attacks that happened many years ago.

I had lost my dear grandparents in one of those battles. There was a sneak attack, and they ended up getting caught in the crossfire. I wasn't even born yet, although I do remember my mother telling me about the late night after the attack had happened, and how Mr. Morrison himself gave herself and dad the terrible news. He said that he and his team did everything they could to protect them and anyone else that was caught in the battle. 

I sighed with a heavy heart, rolling up the poster. There was a time when Overwatch was absolutely adored by the public for all of the incredible things they've all done to protect our planet. But now, they're just considered criminals, rouge mercenaries.

Instead of throwing the poster away, I decided to keep it, stuffing it into my backpack as I crossed the street, making my way off of the pier and entering an apartment complex. I passed a few buildings before entering the fourth one to my right which had a spectacular view of the ocean. Taking the elevator up to the fifth floor, I made my way through the hall and unlocked the door at the very end.

"I'm back!" I called, shutting the door behind me.

I slipped my shoes off as I walked down a narrow hallway and into the living area/kitchen. Cooking some soup at the stove was a boy just a few years older than me. That's my brother, Dave. He had short black hair and blue eyes with a lean, thin build. He wore a long sleeved navy blue shirt with black jeans.

"Hey sis," Dave greeted, "how'd it go with Mr. O'Conner?"

"Great!" I exclaimed, tossing my backpack on the couch, "he gave me double more than I offered."

"Seriously?" he asked with amazement, glancing over at me.

"Seriously," I chuckled with confirmation, taking my jacket off, "speaking of money, I have to pay my share of the rent."

"You don't have to do that Hope," Dave assured me as he poured the soup into the pair of bowls on the near by counter.

"But I want to," I persisted, leaning against the opposite end of the counter, "Dave, you've been kind enough to let me stay with you until I get enough money to find my own place and get an actual job. The least I could do is pay the rent in exchange."

"Are you sure?" he asked with concern, locking eyes with me, "I appreciate the offer, Hope, but I want you to keep the money for your benefit."

"But I feel guilty though," I pouted, "come on, if not half, let me pay 25% then."

Dave processed the proposal in his mind for a few short moments. He sighed, shaking his head before extending his hand towards me. "Alright, deal."

I smacked his hand with mine, shaking it. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Ivery."

"And you as well, Miss Ivery." He teased in reply.

*******

Once dinner was over, I helped my brother clean up the kitchen and gave him my portion of the rent. Since I graduated college and after the whole Overwatch shutting down thing, Dave had been kind enough to take me in and let me stick around at his place until I found myself a job. Well, one that pays better than my repair jobs anyway.

I was back in my room, listening to Lúcio's latest album, while checking my emails to see if any one of the places I applied for had gotten back to me today. Just my luck, none of them replied. I huffed with a sigh, leaning back against my chair.

"That's just great," I muttered.

At least I had Lúcio's music to help calm my nerves. 

I glanced over at the time displayed on the bottom corner of the screen. 10:45pm. I huffed, rubbing my eyelids. I was tired from a day of non-stop repairs and deliveries. Besides, who knows what else I may have to get fixed up tomorrow. I shut down my laptop, closing it as I got up from my desk.

Scampering over to my bed, I reached for my backpack to toss it to the side, yet I froze. I carefully unzipped the backpack and gently pulled out the Overwatch poster that I found on my way back home. Unrolling it, I took a good, long, solid look at the poster, looking at the confident faces of the Overwatch agents. 

Memories of the story about John Morrison visiting my parents entered my mind once again, as my grip on the poster tightened. Despite the horrible outcome, Overwatch did everything they could for them, and they never gave up. That's what truly made them all heroes. With all the recent violence that's been going on now, we could really use their help. More than anything.

I rummaged through my desk drawer, finding some tape as I snapped off a few pieces before taping the poster up on the bedside wall.

Satisfied, I changed into my pyjamas and got ready for bed before shutting off the lights and snuggling into the blankets. My eyelids were so heavy I could have sworn if I stayed up any longer, I would just flat out collapse and sleep on the floor.

I think I maybe got a few good hours of sleep until I was suddenly woken up by a strange noise. It was a loud "BOOM!" that snapped me awake as I spazzed out and fell out of bed.

"Ow..." I groaned, rubbing my side as I slowly stood up to my feet.

Looking around for the source of the noise, I walked over to my window, sliding it open as I took a peek outside along the beach. It didn't look like anyone was around, and no other lights were on except for the street lights that flickered on and off for a few seconds after the noise went off.

"What was that?"

I scanned the area one more time before something caught my eye. It was a faint spark of light, coming from the far end of the beach. Was that where the noise came from? Was there an explosion of some sort? Did someone get hurt?

Those thoughts rattled in my mind as I quickly grabbed my hoodie and a pair of flip flops from my closet, slipping the added attire on before climbing out the window and jogging my way down the fire escape. Once I touched the ground, I made a B-line for the beach, crossing the street and stepping onto the sand. I ran as fast as I could across the beach. It was a little hard to see considering how dark it was.

Finally after for what seemed like forever, I finally made it to the end of the beach. I was met with a metal fence, all broken and bent. The lock that kept it shut was snapped and casted aside as danger and trespassing signs hung at an uncomfortable angle. I carefully stepped over the fallen parts of the fence before making my way over towards this building. It looked like some sort of factory or a warehouse of some kind?

Whatever caused that noise to wake me up had pushed the front door wide open. I quickly slipped inside, making my way up the staircase. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Why did I even decide to come here? What would I find in here?

Once I reached the top of the staircase, I stepped into a large room. In the middle was a table with metal parts and gizmos sprawled about, and even more of it was all over the floor. There was a giant tire tied to a rope that dangled from the ceiling. To the end of the room was another staircase that led up to the second floor catwalk where another room was sealed off, filled with computer screens and systems.

Whatever happened here, it sure caused one heck of a mess.

"Hello?" I called out quietly. "Is anyone in here?"

"Intruder Alert!" A female computer like voice echoed.

I screamed, the voice startling me as red lights filled the room. Out of nowhere, something dropped from the ceiling. Scared, I collapsed to the floor as metal bars crashed around me. I was trapped in a cage.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The voice questioned.

Frantically catching my breath, I rose to my feet, grabbing a hold of the bars. "I didn't mean to intrude! I heard a loud noise and saw this light coming from here. I was worried there was some sort of explosion and rushed over to see if anyone might needed some help! Honest!"

There was a sudden grumble as a massive figure jumped down from the catwalk, swinging around on the tire swing before plummeting to the floor.

"Athena, what is going on here?" A male, baritone voice spoke up.

"Apologies. This intruder triggered the alarm, and I took proper security measures," Athena answered.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to trespass into your---" I took another quick look around the room, "--workshop."

The figure took a step, or for some reason it looked like a crawl forward. I still couldn't get quite a good look at his face, but it looked like he had black hair and piercing yellow eyes. "Who are you? Are you a Talon Agent? Why did you come here?"

A Talon Agent? Wait the heck was a Talon Agent? Although that name did sound awfully familiar...

I gulped nervously. "My name is Hope. Hope Ivery. I heard this explosion--- it woke me up, and when I noticed that it came from here, I just wanted to make sure no one was hurt." 

The figure stood in his place silently before sighing, stepping out of the shadows. "My apologies. I was working on one of my inventions and it kind of back fired on me. I was not aware the blast was so loud. Athena, disable the security system."

"As you wish," Athena acknowledged.

It was still a little hard to see the man through the bars. It looked like he was wearing some sort of white and black armoured suit. But when Athena ascended the cage back up towards the ceiling, it was then I finally got a good look at the man.

Only, he wasn't a man at all.

He was a gorilla.

"... Winston?" 


	2. Winston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope stumbles upon Winston, Overwatch's famous scientist! How will she fare?

"You... know my name?" The Gorilla questioned, speaking slowly with a hint of confusion in his voice.

I took a couple steps forward, fiddling with my fingers nervously as I met his gaze. "Well, yeah... I mean, you're Winston! THE Winston from Overwatch!"

"Hope, was it? I am flattered and all," Winston chuckled heartily before his expression softened into a pout. "But that was then. Sadly, I don't do that anymore."

"If you don't mind me asking," I shrugged. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Winston studied me for a moment. I don't blame him really. A young adult female, a stranger he's never met before, just stumbles upon his hidden lab and starts asking questions? He sighed, picking up something from the floor as he began to make his way towards the table.

"After Overwatch was shut down, I was at a crossroads. I wasn't exactly sure what else I could do. I needed a place to lay low for a while, since the heat about Blackwatch's reveal was still going on. I heard about this old outpost, so I decided to hide out here," He explained, bringing out a screw driver as he began to tinker with the trinket he picked up.

"And you've been here since?" I asked, stepping beside him.

"I wasn't exactly needed elsewhere," He answered. "Besides, being here gives me an opportunity to catch up on prepping my inventions."

"What are you working on exactly?" I questioned, my curiosity getting the better of me.

It had to be something big if it was the cause of snapping me awake from my long awaited slumber from a long days work.

"It's suppose to be a shield generator. But it, uh," Winston coughed. "Exploded in my face."

"That explains the blast that woke me up." I added.

"Has anyone else noticed?" Winston asked with worry. "I would rather like for the police to not storm in here with a swat team."

I shook my head. "Not from what I saw, no. I was more surprised that it didn't wake up my brother, Dave. I know he's a heavy sleeper and all, but that was just ridiculous!"

Winston couldn't help but laugh. "Sounds a bit like myself back in the day when the alarm would go off to wake us up for a mission. I remember Tracer coming into my room to try and wake me up, like pushing me off the hammock."

I snickered at the thought, the scenario playing in my mind.

_The alarm blaring off in the halls. Awhooga! Awhooga! However, despite their loud commotion, they were muffled inside Winston's room. The gorilla was snoring away in his hammock, fast asleep._

_Tracer suddenly sprinted inside, the noise of the alarm getting louder as the door opened. "Winston, love, we have to go!"_

_That didn't even make the giant ape flinch as he snorted in his sleep, scratching his belly._

_Tracer looked between the gorilla and the doorway, her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open as she couldn't believe what she was seeing._

_She scoffed, quickly jogging to the other side of the gorilla and with a heavy heave, mustering all the might she could into her upper body strength, Tracer attempted to push the gorilla  off of the hammock, but to no avail._

"I can totally see that."

The two of us shared a quick laugh as the room drew silent. The noise that filled the room was the squeaking of Winston's screwdriver.

After shuffling around in my spot for a few moments, I sucked in my gut, sighing. "So, um... you want some help?"

Winston stopped his work right after I spoke, turning his head to face me. "Really?"

"Well, why not?" I suggested.

"This is fairly complicated stuff, even in this day and age," Winston recalled, bringing up from holoscreens that displayed the schematics of the invention. "Are you sure you'll be able to follow along?"

"I have a Computer Programming Degree from VanTech," I elaborated. "I'm sure it's roughly the same. I could help with the programming while you work on, well... the other stuff."

I could have sworn Winston smiled at me. Not a huge one, but one of those smaller, yet also appreciating smiles. "You studied at VanTech? That's a good school."

"I like to think it is." I replied with a little smile of my own, shrugging my shoulders again.

"What do you do, Hope? What's your job?" Winston asked suddenly. "I don't mean to sound so rude, but I partly imagined that you'd be on your way home by now. It's late, won't you need to wake up early for work?"

I crackled my knuckles, an old habit I developed when I was little. I don't do it as much as I use to. Nowadays it's just when I'm a little stressed or very, very nervous. Right now? I had no idea if I was feeling any of those.

"I do repair jobs. I guess you could say it's my own little business." I answered.

"How is that working out?" He asked.

"It's enough to help get me by, for now anyways," I sighed, placing my arms on the table and leaned against it. "I've been looking for a job since I graduated. I was suppose to have a job at a company that partners with my college, and coincidentally enough, Overwatch too, but since the organization shut down, the company soon followed behind, and before I knew it, I was out of a job before I graduated."

After processing what I had just said, I panicked, looking over at the gorilla as my eyes widened, waving my hands in the air.

"I'm not saying it was Overwatch's fault or anything! That's the opposite I was going for, I love Overwatch! It actually got me excited to think that I would actually be working for them when I was done school. You were one of my favourites, and Tracer too!---"

Winston's chuckling grew even louder as he placed the screwdriver down, gently placing his large hands on my shoulders. "Hope, calm down. I know what you went, I'm not mad."

I giggled before sighing with relief. "Good, because I was worried I might get a Primal Punch to the face."

"That wouldn't be good for anyone, now would it." Winston replied as he patted my shoulder with his right hand before moving away. "You really wanted to work with Overwatch, didn't you?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "They were a huge inspiration for me."

"Overwatch may be gone, but I'm sure I can provide you with a similar proposal." Winston replied.

I raised a brow at the gorilla. "What'cha talking about?"

"You said so yourself. You're struggling to look for a job, one that I can assume that comes with better pay," Winston explained. "Why not work with me?"

"With you?" I repeated, pointing a finger at the gorilla.

"With me," he nodded. "As my assistant."

"And you'll be paying me, now exactly?" I questioned with a hint of worry.

"Overwatch may be gone, but I still have my private bank account. I'll pay you with the money from that." Winston explained.

"You do that, and in return, I'll make sure the police doesn't find you if you cause any more explosions." I added.

"With you working here, I'm sure it'll be less malfunctions than usual," Winston laughed before extending his large hand towards me. "Do we have a deal?"

"Are you kidding? I get to work with the Winston!" I exclaimed, shaking his hand. "It's a done deal!"

"Then consider yourself hired." Winston grinned.

"I suggest Miss Ivery be heading on home now," Athena finally spoke up. "It is still rather late in the night."

"Athena is right," Winston nodded in agreement before looking over at me once more, patting my side. "Run along home and get some rest. You start at noon."

"Roger that!" I saluted. "Thank you so much Mr. Winston, you won't regret it!"

The gorilla chuckled as he watched me beginning to take my leave. "Just Winston is fine."

"Right, Winston, sorry!" I apologized with a wave as I began my trek down the stairs. "Goodnight!"

I ran out of the building and sprinted across the sand. I had never felt more excited in my entire life. I had finally found a job.

And it was working with Winston the Gorilla from Overwatch.

*******

For the last week, every day before noon, I would have breakfast with my brother, finish with my repair jobs, make my delivers, head back home to gather my tool kit and some food, and make my way over to Winston's lab to get to work.

Winston gave me a quick tour around his lab when I first got back. Showed me the rest of his workshop where his old Overwatch jetpack suit was proudly displayed. It was pretty neat to be able to see that! Moving on upstairs was the "command center" as he liked to call it. That's where his super computer was located, and where Athena's system was located. She has her own little tablet where she can digitally hoop on to inside Winston's lab to help him work.

Most of the time she just monitors Winston's vitals, and it gets rather annoying for him.

Working with Winston is a lot of fun, and hugely inspiring! We're still having trouble getting his shield generator fixed, but when we're not working on that, I help him out with some of his other inventions, watch the news while eating dinner, work some more, and then Winston would see me off at about 9pm.

Every once in a while, he'll also share some of his "war stories" and adventures while he worked with Overwatch. Most of them were usually about either him, Tracer, or McCree, as he recalled them being one of my favourite members of the organization. Even shared a tale or two about John "Jack" Morrison.

It was now the final week of October, with Halloween coming up just at the end of the week. It was around 7:00pm and the two of us were once again back at it with Winston's stubborn little shield generator.

I held the device steady as Winston wielded the metal covering in place that protected all of the circuits and wires of the machine.

"Aaaand, you got it!" I announced, removing the protective googles from my face.

"Shield Generator test ready to commence." spoke Athena as Winston carefully placed the wielder aside.

"Think it will work this time?" I questioned, sounding hopeful.

"Only one way to find out," Winston hummed as he picked up the device, examining it carefully before placing it back down on the table.

With both of his hands place firmly around the sides of the device, he used his thumbs to press down on two buttons at the top, causing them to glow a bright blue shade of colour. I watched with amazement as blue ray of light shot out through the middle before forming into a small wave of energy as it shielded the device like a bubble.

"We did it!" I cheered.

Winston smiled with approval, but not before the shield began to frizzle and it suddenly vanished, multiple red signs with the highlighted words "FAILED" in bold letters lighting up as it beeped repeatedly and harshly.

"Aw come on!" I whined, smacking my forehead.

Winston cupped his chin as scanned the device. "It did activate, and lasted for a few seconds. It must need a stronger battery to maintain this kind of power."

Winston's free hand reached over to tap one of the red signs to power off the machine, but when he did, there was a sudden blinding light as the energy field dispersed, knocking the two of us down to the floor. Tools were scattered all over the floor, the shield generator resting on the gorilla's belly.

"On the plus side, it didn't explode this time." I coughed.

Winston huffed, shoving the device off of him as we both stood back up to our feet.

"Now, now, no need for that, Winston," Athena cautioned.

I began to pick up the tools from the floor as Winston jumped up on his tire swing, swinging around to relieve himself of his stress. I couldn't blame him. I'd been helping him trying to get that thing fixed for week, and so far we've made only slight improvements.

"Your heart rate is through the roof," She quickly added.

"I told you to stop monitoring my vitals, Athena," Winston spoke with annoyance, rolling his eyes as he sprang up to the second floor catwalk, making his way towards the command center.

"Very well," Athena complied.

"Now might be a good time to take a break." I suggested, placing the tools back on the table.

I quickly scurried over to the other side of the room, grabbing my backpack as I made my way up the stairs towards the second floor, making my way down the catwalk to join Winston in the other room.

I've tried using the tire swing once before. I almost made it up to catch the railing too, but it was a little hard to hang on to the rope while going up in the air, especially at such a high speed. Once I realised I wouldn't be able to reach it, I just managed to grab onto the tire at the last second, my heart pounding as I soared my way back down to the ground as Winston stopped the fire from moving, making sure I was okay.

"It has been 43 days, 7 hours, and 29 seconds since your last cardio workout," Athena explained as Winston sat inside a giant tire, grabbing a banana. "Remember, a healthy body leads to a---"

"Healthy mind, I know," Winston grumbled as he peeled his banana. "That's why I have this!"

As I walked in, Winston grabbed a plastic jar of peanut butter, opening the lid with his teeth before spitting it out. I watched as the lid rolled across the side table, joining a dozen other jar lids that were left aside.

"Wish I could eat that everyday," I mumbled.

I rolled my eyes with a tease at the display as I made my way over, sitting up on the side table next to Winston as I pulled out a plastic container and metal fork from my backpack. Inside was a fresh batch of Cesar Salad, one of my favourites. As I took a bite out of my food, Winston leaned back into his seat, cracking the knuckles of his toes before using them to tap on his touch screen keyboard, bringing up the world news.

The leading headline was; **"RUSSIA BEGINS COORDINATED DEFENSE AGAINST OMNICS".**

"The ongoing Omnic Crisis continues to devastate Russia. The war between humans and omnics has claimed over a thousand lives," The news reporter spoke, bringing up a bar graph on one side of the screen. "So far the international community has been reluctant to intervene--"

The first Omnic Crisis were decades ago, but more recently for the last couple of days, another one has broken out over at Russia. I don't follow the news as much as I used to growing up, but from what I've heard, a large group of the Omnic robots down there have gone rogue and started attack the humans. While there are plenty of Omnics who want to live with the human race in peace, there were some who had other ideas.

I actually knew a few Omnics at my school. We worked on a few class assignments together. I don't know why some people are so butt hurt about them. I thought they were really nice and friendly.  

After watching the news report, Winston snarled with disapproval, setting his food down as he began to type frantically into the keyboard with his fingers, a new holoscreen appeared in front of the news feed.

**"Initiate Overwatch Recall?"**

My eyes widened at the sight as I froze, my mouth gaped open just as I was about to take another bite of my food.

"You can do that?!" I piped.

"Every time you see news of this, we go through," Athena spoke up.  "I remind you; Recalling Overwatch Agents to active duty comes with great risk."

Athena brought up two other holoscreens. One of them was the I.J.C. logo with the **"Petra's Act"** text underneath. The other was a newspaper article with a photo of an Overwatch agent in police custody, the headline reading **"Overwatch Disbanded"**.

"The Petra's act clearly states, any Overwatch activity is deemed illegal and punishable by prosecution." Athena reminded.

  
"I know," Winston grumbled with annoyance, rolling his eyes as he slouched in his seat.

"It's bad enough that Overwatch disbanded, but why did they have to make it illegal?" I asked. "That's just overkill if you ask me. If Overwatch was still legal, you guys would have handled this by now!"

"That's the way the world is," Winston sighed, his face hanging low before looking over to the side. "But I do miss the old days."

Following his gaze, I looked over to find some old photos. They were photos of Winston and the members of Overwatch! There was this one big one that looked like they were given an award. In the photo was Winston, of course, but as I looked at the faces of the other Agents, my lips grew into a smile. There was Tracer, McCree, Mercy, Jack, Gabriel,  McCree, Reinhartd, Ana, Torbjorn, and... was that Genji?

If I can recall, Genji was one of the more recent members of the Overwatch team. He was supposed to be an insanely talented martial artist, and an incredible swordsmen. Rumour has it he could summon a giant, green dragon just by shouting out his famous battle cry! I hardly saw him on the news, but I defiantly liked him a lot!

In another set of photos, there was Mercy and Torbjorn dressed up for Halloween, then there was a selfie with Winston and Tracer. I smiled at the photo. It seemed the two of them were really good friends. Before I was about to go back to eating, there was another photo hidden behind the selfie. It was a little hard to see, but Winston beat me to it. He reached over, gently lifting up the bottom of his selfie with Tracer to reveal the hidden photo.

It was a picture of Winston when he was just a baby, and there was a young man posing with him. He had light brown hair with matching eyes, wore a white lab coat and black glasses.

My first initial thought was; _Oh my gosh, Winston looks so adorable!!!_

My second thought was who the man was? Was he his owner?

I was snapped out of my train of thought when a high pitched beeping noise caught my attention. I set my food to the side, sliding off of the table as I looked over at the computer screen. A series of red texts blinking **"Intruder Alert"**.

I typed up a combination in the keyboard, bringing up the security camera feeds. Armed men dressed in black were marching up the stairs and halls of the facility. They didn't look anything like the local police, that's for sure.

"Uh, Winston?" I gulped nervously.

Winston snapped out of his trance, taking a look at the security feeds for himself.

"I've detected intruders," Athena spoke.

"Talon," Winston growled, taking off his glasses.

"Talon... bad guys, right?" I asked.

"Affirmative," Athena answered. "Right now they are the most notorious terrorist group in the world."

My body was slowly starting to get into a panic. My hands were shaking, my palms were beginning to sweat. A terrorist group? What were they doing here?! Were they after Winston?

"Hope, it's me they're after," Winston spoke, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Hide under that table, and whatever you do, do not come out. Stay there no matter what. Understand?"

I nodded frantically. "I understand."

"Good," Winston nodded in reply as he gently pushed me to the side as I got down to my knees, crawling under the table that was closest to the window that overlooked the first floor.

"Athena," Winston spoke up. "Kill the lights."

The next thing I knew, the entire building went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions, hit me up on Tumblr @maddieautobot273


	3. Talon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talon attacks! Will Hope & Winston survive?

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to go right out of my chest. I was scared. I tried my absolutely best to breathe as quietly as possible. I carefully crawled over to the window, my body perched against the floor as I poked my head up ever so slightly to look out the glass window that over looked the second floor.

Winston had already left to go and deal with our unwelcome guests. I saw spikes of red lights, and one by one, Talon agents moved into the workshop. They carried black machine guns with scopes on the top that were equipped with red lasers to help target their prey. They wore all black, and had strange skull like masks with red glowing eyes.

I gulped nervously at their sight. They just looked so terrifying to me.

As they all huddled near each other, looking around the room, something dropped from the ceiling. They all reacted quickly, pointing their lasers at the object that landed in front of them.

A banana peel.

With their guard down, Winston saw his chance and from above, came soaring down and tackled them all beneath his feet, roaring. He grabbed one by the leg and sent him flying to the side before grabbing another by his helmet and slammed him to the floor, all the while as he got in another agents face, roaring his gorilla breathe all over him.

"Come on Winston, you got this!" I whispered to myself.

The Talon agents began to open fire on the gorilla. With his armour on to protect him, Winston grabbed the agent in front of him, tossing him against a wall before summer salting in between two more agents as he sprang up and smashed the two against each other with his hands like a sandwich, tossing them to the floor.  

I fist pumped silently, cheering Winston on for his victory.

But I may have spoken too soon. Right after that, a patch of black smoke came flying into the room, almost like it had a mind of its own. I covered my mouth with my hand to stop my quiet cheers as I watched the smoke fly up towards another catwalk on the other side of the room, and I tried my absolute hardest not to scream when I saw the smoke take the form of a masculine figure.

He was dressed in black like the other agents, only he wore different attire. He wore a long black trench coat with a hood over his head, a white skull mask that covered his face, black bullet proof armour, and leather boots.

The sound of his dark laughter sent a chill down my spine. Now I was suddenly even more terrified than ever, more so for Winston as it looked like he would have to fight him.  

Winston snarled at the leader of the Talon agents and just as he leaped up in the air to attack him, one of the fallen agents sprang up, firing a pair tasers at the gorilla and striking him. I forced myself to hold back a shrill of a scream, using both of my hands to cover my mouth as I helpless watched Winston collapse to the floor as more agents stood up to their feet and used their own tasers against him.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I mumbled quickly, my heart pounding even harder than before. 

I was so distracted by Winston's cries, I almost didn't notice the Talon leader enter the command center. I quickly huddled myself in the corner, pulling my knees up to my chest as I desperately tried to not make a sound.

I watched as the man slapped some sort of device into the computer hard drive, red sparks of electricity coursing through it as I looked over at the computer screens, the original feed fizzling out of existence as a download bar appeared along with an endless cycle of the computers files and information.

"Security protocols failing," said Athena. "Winston, Reaper is extracting the Overwatch Agent Database!"

So that's what his name was... Reaper. And he was doing what?!

If he got his hands on that database, he could use it to track and locate the other agents and try to take them out just like he was doing right now with Winston!

My mind began to race as I looked between Reaper and Winston. I knew Winston told me to stay put for my own safety, but I couldn't just sit around and do nothing! There just had to be something I could do to help!

As if the universe was on my side, I heard a loud 'THUD' and looked back out through the window to see that one of the Talon agents had slipped on Winston's banana peel, dropping his taser weapon. Winston laughed at the sight before letting his rage go, his eyes sparkling a terrifying, electrical yellow as his armour and fur turned red.

Yellow electrical surges coursed through his body as he grabbed the taser wires and began spinning the talon agents around in circles like they were on the worlds fastest merry-go-round.

One of the agents actually let go and came soaring towards the window! I pushed my back against the wall, shielding myself as I braced for the impact. The agent smashed through the window, crashing right into a side table as he knocked over a few books before collapsing to floor in front of me.

"Agent Extraction at 32%." spoke Athena.

I froze, looking up over at Reaper. He glanced over in the direction of the agent. I held my breath, praying that he didn't see me. With a heavy sigh, he tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck before he turned around and the body half of his body turned into the black cloud as he literally hovered through the window and back towards the first floor.

I saw this as my chance, crawling out from under the table, I ran over to the main computer. "Athena, talk to me here!"

"Agent Extraction at 50%."

I cracked my knuckles before typing away at the keyboard, slamming my finger tips onto the touch screen as my eyes frantically searched the monitor for any signs of retaliation against the virus Reaper injected into Athena.   

"Ugh, none of my firewalls are working!" I hissed, slamming my fist on the keyboard.

Before I could do anything else, the sound of gun fire filled my ear, echoing across the room. I immediately zipped around and ran for the hole in the window, looking through it to see Reaper shooting down Winston with a pair of pistols. When the gorilla was on the floor, Reaper made one more shot, instead aiming his weapon up in the air and firing a bullet that broke free a metal capsule from a chain that was attached to the ceiling.

The capsule came crashing down as Winston braced for the impact, shielding himself as he didn't have enough time to get out of the way. It smacked right into him, messing with his vision.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry out to him, I wanted to do something! But what good help would I be to Winston if I was dead! There just had to be something I could do!

Somehow, in someway, Athena could sense this as she began to call out to Winston as he began to stir. Reaper stalked towards the gorilla as I ran back to the computer hard drive, desperately trying to pull the strange device out. This was what Reaper was after right? He wanted the location of all of the other agents. But the stupid thing was locked in tight! It wouldn't even budge.

"Winston! He's going to have all agents locations!" Athena exclaimed.

"I'll be sure to send them your regards, monkey," Reaper spoke.

Winston scoffed. "I'm not a monkey---"

Suddenly the sound of the failing shield generator caught my attention as I moved away from the hard drive and made my way back to the window. The failed signs were going off as Reaper laughed at the sight.

When I realized what Winston was up to, my lips formed into a smirk as I glanced over at the Talon leader. "Oh, you are so in for it." I muttered.

"I'm a scientist!" Winston proclaimed.

The shield generator went off, sending Reaper flying across the room and smacking right into the work shop table. Winston summer salted forward, grabbing a weapon with his feet as he began to charge it. As Reaper got up to his feet, Winston let him have it, firing at the man with his famous Tesla Cannon.

Reaper cried out from the pain as the electrical energy coursed through his body and evaporated him! The man exploded in a pile of dust, raining down on the floor as his weapons collapsed. I cheered Winston on as the gorilla pounded his chest with victory, snorting at Reaper's ashes.

"Extraction... 90%."

Athena's voice sounded slow and degrading right about now...

I gasped, the realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. "Athena!"

I turned tail and ran back to the computer, desperately trying my firewall protocols again. I heard Winston come in, climbing up through the hole in the window. He grabbed onto the device Reaper plugged into the hard drive and pulled it out with ease, crushing it with his fist.

"Extraction... 98%."

"My fire walls still aren't working," I hissed nervously.

Winston quickly rushed over to my side, typing away at another keyboard as well. "Hang on, Athena!"

The screens suddenly fizzled and powered off, displaying nothing but a pitch black darkness as Winston and I's reflection could be seen on the glass of the screen.

"No!" I cried, my eyes widening.

"Athena?" Winston called. He frantically looked at all of the monitors, searching for any signs of response. "A-A-Athena?!"

I covered my mouth with my hands, hoping, praying some miracle would happen. Please be okay, Athena! Please, please, please!

Suddenly a blue blip appeared at the top left corner of the main screen. It blinked a few times before Athena's logo reappeared on the screen.

"Virus averted." She spoke.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I slouched in Winston's tire chair. Now that was seriously intense! Talon agents storming the place, hiding under a table and praying to GOD that I don't make a single noise and get caught, watching Winston fight and almost die, and exposing all of the Overwatch agents in one night?! No wonder I was feeling so hot and stressed, I was sweating like a mad woman!

"That was way too close," I spoke, rubbing my eyelids.

"Agreed," Winston replied as he bent down, picking up his glasses from the floor.

"I'm restoring all information and databases now," said Athena as the screens came back to life, charts, maps, and schematics filling the screens.

As I took the time to compose and calm myself down, a new image flashing up on the main screen caught my attention.

**"Initiate Overwatch Recall?"**

Winston noticed this as well, his eyes never tearing away from the screen.

"They might be danger," I spoke up suddenly. "Reaper may be gone, but what if more of those Talon agents come back?" I glanced over at the agent who was knocked out by the table I was hiding under. "They could go after them. You have to warn them."

Winston stood there silently as he looked between the image and his glasses. I slowly stood up from the tire seat, looking over at him with pleading eyes.

"Winston, with guys like that still out there... the world needs Overwatch. More than ever."

With his eyes narrowed, Winston slipped his glasses back on. "Hope, a man once told me to never accept the world as it appears to be. To dare to see it for what it could be."

Curiously, I stepped closer to the gorilla as we both looked at the holographic image. He gently raised his hand and tapped the "Y" button on the screen.

The image vanished and was replaced with a 3-D holopgraphic image of the Earth. One by one points popped up from all over the world. I gasped at the sight, a smile appearing on my face. They were the locations of all of the Overwatch agents!

"Establishing agent connections." said Athena.

I glanced at the main computer screen behind it, seeing the profiles of Overwatch agents pop up on the screen. First there was Genji, then Reinhardt, Mercy, Torbjorn, McCree, and then the profiles were coming up so fast it was hard to keep track of them all. Finally after cycling through them all, the final profile appeared on the screen and I gasped at the image. It was a image of a 26 year old woman with short brown hair, blue eyes,  a pair of earrings on her left ear, and wore orange googles with a brown leather jacket.

It was Tracer.

As the computer was going over the profiles of the Agents, Winston had stepped over to the side to put on his jetpack armour. I had to admit, he looked pretty darn cool.

"Dang Winston!" I stared in awe.

A pop up appeared on the screen reading **"Active Call".**

"Winston, is that you love?" A voice spoke through the speaker.

My mouth gaped open, nearly dropping to the floor as I looked over at Winston, pointing at the monitor. "Is that who I think it is?"

Winston chuckled at my reaction before looking over at the screen. "Hello Tracer."

"Oh-ho! It's been too long!" Tracer exclaimed.

"Yes," Winston smiled as he adjusted his glasses. "Yes it has."

"Is there someone else there with you?" Tracer asked. "Who's your friend?"

I looked over at Winston who motioned for me to go on a head. I gulped, chuckling nervously as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Um, hi. My name is Hope. Hope Ivery."

"Pleasure to meet'cha Hope," Tracer greeted. "How do you know Winston?"

"She's a recent hire of mine," Winston explained. "She's been helping me around in my facility."

"So what's the 411 big guy?" Tracer questioned. "Is it time to get the gang back together?" 


	4. Tracer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Winston set off on their adventure to find the other Overwatch agents, starting with Tracer! But will they get more than they bargained for?

"You're going to London? As in London, England?!"

If reinstating Overwatch and warning them about Reaper wasn't exciting enough, Winston actually asked me if I wanted to go with him in searching for the rest of the Overwatch agents!

Are you kidding me right now?! This is like a dream come true! I actually get to work with Overwatch after all! True, most likely not as an official agent, rather as Winston's assistant, but none of the less, I was seriously pumped!

Right when I accepted his offer, Winston told me to rush back home and gather my belongings, as we would be heading off to London straight away to meet up with Tracer. THE Tracer! First Winston, and now the one and only Tracer? Who know who else I'll get to meet next.

I was in my room, packing up my suitcase and backpack with my clothes and any of my other belongs I figured I might need. I was wearing a red short sleeve shirt a white long sleeve crop top over top and then my leather jacket over top that, dark black jeans and brown boots.

"Yep!" I piped, smiling brightly at my brother Dave as he stood by the doorway in shock.

"Right now?!" He asked with shock.

"Yes, it's a last minute thing!" I defended.

"B-B-But you literally just got the job last week, and you're already going on a--- on a---" He stuttered, running his fingers through his hair.

"A business trip?" I guessed.

"That's the term I was looking for," He snapped his fingers, stepping into the room towards me. "Hope, don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you. Really, I am. But don't you think this is all happening a little too fast?"

"No!" I defended, turning around to face him. "Well, maybe... yes... I don't know!" I slapped my forehead before sighing, placing my hands on his shoulders. "Dave, this could be a good thing for me! I'll be out for a couple of days, but I'll be back!"

"Well," Dave's eyes were filled with uncertainty, but once he saw my assuring face, he relaxed his tense muscles, smiling at me. "Alright. I'll take your word for it."

"Thanks bro," I chuckled, hugging him. "I'll buy you a present while I'm in London!"

"How very kind of you," he teased, returning the gesture as he ruffled my long dark hair. "Do you want a ride to the airport?"

"That's okay," I hummed, pulling away as I zipped up my suitcase and put on my backpack. "It's all taken care of."

"Oh, okay then," He replied, scratching his head as he stepped to the side, allowing me to pull my suitcase out of my bedroom.

"Tell you what, I'll text you when we land, okay?" I suggested, stopping in front of the main door as I reached up to the coat rack, slipping my scarf around my neck.  
  
"Sounds like a plan." he agreed, waving at me. "Have fun!"

"Thanks," I sang. "Love you big bro!"

"Love you too, little sis." he grinned.

He watched me off as I left the apartment, the air around him going silent as he was left as the remaining body in the room.

"Dang, a business trip in just a week?" He mumbled. "Who the heck is she even working for anyway?"

********

"Winston, this is incredible!" I exclaimed.

Winston and I were riding in a original Overwatch shuttle jet! It looks just like the ones I would see in the holovideos at school! I even saw one on display when the Overwatch exhibit came to my local museum. It was pretty neat. They showed off the original uniforms, some of the gadgets they had, it was really cool!

In fact I was so excited about the trip, I barely even slept! I spent the time watching a movie on my phone, listening to Lucio's newest album again (if you already couldn't tell, I'm a huge fan of Lúcio), and taking a look around and seeing what the ship had to offer.

The ship was large enough for two people to sit in the cock pit, a small sitting area/kitchen, and two restrooms on the other side of the ship, and finally in the middle of the ship along side two small stairwells were a combination of the passenger seats along the walls that had the option of stretching out into beds, a work out room, and the command center.

"Sorry if I've said that for the hundredth time, this trip." I smiled cheaply, a nervous chuckle escaping my lips.

"It's no trouble at all, Hope," Winston assured me. "I'm actually glad you're enjoying yourself, considering how long this flight has been."

"This isn't my first flight to London. I came here once years ago when I was kid," I explained, leaning back in the passenger seat of the cock pit.

"Of course once I get the Engine Accelerator fixed, we won't have to worry about these long trips." Winston added.

"What do you mean by that?" I questioned, raising a brow at the gorilla.

"With the Engine Accelerator, we'll be able to hyper jump to any destination we please," He explained. "Reducing a normal few hours flight time to 30 seconds."

I sat up straight in my chair, slamming my hands on the arm rests. "It can make this ship go **that** fast?"

"Oh yes, defiantly." Winston chuckled, turning the steering wheel of the ship to make a left.

"I've only seen that kind of stuff in sci-fi movies," I spoke with astonishment. "How come airplanes or cars or other stuff that have that kind of tech?"

"It's strictly experimental and restricted to Overwatch operations," Winston answered. "I was planning to create more of them and distribute them to the public once I perfected it. That was until, you know..."

"Overwatch shutting down..." I finished.

"Yes," Winston sulked. He stayed like that for a brief moment before composing himself, straightening his posture. "Well, no point to drawl about the past. We have bigger things to worry about."

"So, how much longer before we get to London?" I asked.

The ship rocked suddenly, the engines powering down as Winston moved away from the controls. "Right now."

I bolted up from my seat and pressed my hands against the glass window, looking out. When the smoke cleared, I could see we were out in the country side, just right outside the city.

We left Vancouver at around 8:30 at night and with the time zone difference, in London it was 4:30 in the morning when we left. Now I kind of felt bad for waking up Tracer and some of the other agents. Anyways, with the time zones in mind, our current arrival time now was 12:30pm. Which means, technically, Winston and I have been flying all night and morning to get here.

"Oh," I spoke bluntly, my eyes widening with surprise. "Look at that."

"I need to stay here and make some modifications to the ship," said Winston. "In the meantime, I want you to rendezvous with Tracer."

"Me?!" I exclaimed, pointing at myself.

"If Talon does go after her, they'll be expecting me to be the one to go find her," Winston explained.

"Whereas they won't be expecting me to go look for her... because they have no idea who I am." I slowly realized.

"Exactly my point, Hope," Winston smiled, signalling me to follow him.

"Okay, so, where do I go?" I asked with a shrug.

"Tracer lives in the King's Row district of the city. She attends a local pub there. It should be easy to spot, but just in case you get lost," Winston explained as I followed him down the small flight of stairs and out into the middle room of the ship. He picked up something from the middle table and gently strapped it to my wrist. "You are more then welcome to use this."

"A watch?" I predicted.

"A wrist communicator. With this you'll be able to communicate with other agents in its range, and also track their location, so long as their security code has been logged in," said Winston as he tapped the screen, displaying the image of a map of the city with a yellow blip on the far corner. "I've already installed Tracer's code into this communicator, so you should have no trouble finding her."

"Got'cha! I'm on it, Winston!" Giving the gorilla a thumbs up, I was about to take off when he reached over and caught me by the shoulder, pulling me back.

"Hold your horses there, Hope," He chuckled. "I know you're eager to go, but did you really expect me to just let you walk there?"

"Wait, you're giving me more stuff?" I asked, starting to get excited.

He smirked at me as he walked over to the side of the room, opening up a secret compartment as he pulled out and assembled a hover-scooter! It was a beautiful shade of white with blue hue highlights.

"It looks awesome, Winston!" I stared at the vehicle in awe as I walked towards it. "I haven't road one of these in years. This will defiantly make the trip faster."

"Safety first," he instructed, handing me a sleek, matching helmet.

I took it out of his hands, strapping the helmet onto my head before climbing on to the scooter. I revved the right handle back, bringing the scooter to lift as electrical engine powered online and the scooter shot up, hovering from the floor.

"I'll be back in a flash, Winston!" I waved.

"Be careful, and keep an eye out for any more Talon agents," Winston cautioned as he walked to the other side of the room, slamming his fist onto a button that opened up a giant side door of the ship that led to the outside world. "Report back to me if there's any trouble."

"Copy that." I grinned.

I pressed my left foot down on the floor and with a heavy push, I flew forward, riding my hover-scooter out of the ship, and down a dirt road of London's country side.

*******

The city of London was way more exhilarating than I imagined it to be. Plus it's changed quite a bit since my last visit. For one thing, there were skyscrapers as far as the eye could see, and the city had to be at least two, maybe three times bigger since the last few decades.

By the time it took me to travel across the country side to get to the city of London, and find King's Row, it was quite the trip. An hour at least. But the harder part was locating Tracer. I did manage to find the pub Winston was talking about earlier. I waited a few minutes for her there, half an hour tops, to see if she would pop in by chance, and I got a quick bite to eat while I was there too, since I haven't really eaten anything since we left Vancouver.

When that plan was a bust, I took Winston's aid and tried using my new wrist communicator to track her. At first I thought my new gadget was glitching, because one minute her locator blip would be in one part of the district and then the next minute, she just zaps to a different location in entirely.

"What the heck?" I uttered, looking around the area.

I could have sworn I had been chasing that blip for over an hour. I nearly got into trouble with the local authorities for speeding. They classified me as a tourist when I showed them my Canadian Health card as an I.D., so I was lucky enough that they let me off with a warning.

A couple times when I neared her location, I could have sworn I saw some sort of blue streak of light around a corner. I checked my communicator screen again, watching as the blips kept appearing in a similar pattern, like they were going around in a circle all around King's Row. I watched the blips for a few moments, and when I believed I had figured out the pattern, I bolted down an alley way on my scooter and put it in park.

I huddled in the corner, watching and waiting for something, someone. That's when I heard it. A "WHOOSH" kind of sound. I jerked my scooter forward, coming out of hiding.

"Ah, ha!" I shouted.

A female figure yelped, jumping back away from me. The two of us froze, just staring at each other. Tracer erupted with laughter, brushing a lock of her hair out of the way of her goggles.

"Aw, love, you finally got me!"

Satisfied that I finally found who I was looking for, I collapsing forward, leaning my body against the bars of the scooter as I breathed in and out heavily. "What was that all about?"

"My apologies there. You're Hope, right? I have to admit, I was expecting Winston to come here," Tracer spoke honestly. "So when I saw you show up with that wrist communicator, I wasn't internally sure if you were a friend or foe."

"So, wait, you were testing me?" I questioned.

Tracer nodded in reply. "I wanted to see your behavior during a hunt. How you would react to certain situations. If you were a Talon agent, it's most likely they would have started shooting the place up long ago. Not the first time a new Overwatch recruit turned out to be a plant."

My eyes widened, waving my hands defensively at the young woman. "Oh no, I wouldn't really call myself a new recruit. I'm just, well, Winston's newly appointed assistant."

"Well for someone who works with computers, you sure were moving quite fast back there," Tracer complimented. "I thought for sure you would have caught me a few times."

"I played a few sports back in my grade schools," I elaborated, pulling myself up. "In my defense, I technically did sit in front of a computer all through college, and second of all, I'm only a year younger than you."

Tracer giggled at the remark, smiling brightly in my direction. "You're a funny one. Winston's told me quite a bit about you. I think we'll get along just great!"

"You really think so?" I asked, sounding hopeful.

She hummed in reply, extending her hand towards mine. "You know me as Tracer, but my real name is Lena. Lena Oxton."

I took her hand, shaking it as I smiled back at her. "Nice to meet you, Lena. I'm Hope Ivery, but you already know that."

"Well then, Miss Ivery, shall we be off then?" She suggested.

"Let's," I grinned.

"Race you back to Winston?" She teased, getting ready to sprint.

"No thank you!" I answered quickly, sticking my hand out towards her. "I'm still recovering from our game earlier. How about we just walk for now?"

Tracer chuckled, standing back up straight. "Sure!"

The two of us smiled at each other as I stepped off of the scooter, walking it off as Tracer and I made our way out of the alley and back into the streets of King's Row.

********

The sun had already set as Tracer and I made our long walk through King's Row. We were nearing the center of the district when we discovered something happening in the square. It looked some sort of protest was going on. It was causing one heck of a commotion, I'll give you that. Humans and Omnic robots mingled together, shouting, chanting, holding up signs.

I even noticed a security guard, a man in a black suit. He was standing to the right side of a small stage, scanning the area. There was a podium up at the front with a microphone attached to it.

"Is someone suppose to be giving a speech tonight?" I spoke up as the two of us slowed down, scooping things out.

"Oh, I remember now!" Tracer exclaimed with realization. "Mondatta is supposed to be speaking at this rally!"

"Mondatta?" I repeated slowly, processing the name over and over again in my head.

That's when I came to realize that I did in fact know that name! I did a history report on him back in high school! Tekhartha Mondatta is the leader of a group of Omnics called The Shambali. Their mission is to have humans and omnics come together into societal harmony, after what occurred following the Omnic Crisis. 

"Oh, I've seen photos of him but I've never seen him up close before," Tracer smiled as she glanced my way, motioning her head towards the crowd. "Can we check it out?"

"Um," I scratched my head. "Let me check with Winston first."

"Got'cha!" Tracer gave me a thumbs as she stepped forward, taking a look around at the crowd.

I stepped to the side, activating the communicator the Gorilla gave me, patching through to his frequency. "Winston? Are you there?"

"You've been gone for a while now, Hope. Did you find Tracer?" He asked.

"Yep! I have her with me, and we're on our way back now," I explained. "But it looks like some sort of rally is forming in the square. Mondatta is supposed to be speaking and Tracer wants to check it out. Do you need us back at the ship right away?"

"That was the original plan," Winston recalled with a harsh cough. "But the Engine Accelerator starting malfunctioning as I was installing it. I can fix it, but it'll take me a while."

"Ouch, that sucks," I hissed with disappointment.

"Yeah, it's not exactly what I wanted to happen tonight," Winston huffed. "Give me a couple more minutes to fix this, then I'll send for you two and let you know when the ship is ready for take off."

"Copy that, Winston," I obliged, disconnecting our chat. I turned and walked over to Tracer, catching her attention. "Winston is just repairing the ship, so we can stick around."

"Perfect!" She cheered, "Let's get a good spot!"

I powered off my hoover scooter, picking it up and moving some of the parts around as I turned into a metal backpack. I strapped it onto my shoulders before Tracer gently grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with her into the crowd of people.

It wasn't a huge turn out, but there were still quite a few people around. I should try and snag a photo of the Omnic Monc for Dave when he gets up on stage.

Dave... wait a minute! I complete forgot I promised that I would get him a present while I was here in London! I  smacked myself in the forehead, rubbing my hand down my face as I cursed quietly under my breath, scanning the area around me. I left now, I might be able to pick up something from a local gift shop.

But before I could speak up to Tracer to let her know of my situation, the crowds started getting louder as they all began to huddle a bit tighter together. I looked up towards the stage to see Mondatta himself, dressed in a white and yellow robe with 9 blue blips on his head in the shape of a square, making his way up onto the stage, waving at the crowds as they calmed their cheers.

Tracer smiled, standing up on her toes and tilted slightly towards me, trying to get a better view of the Omnic. I had to admit, seeing him live and in the flesh, in a matter of speaking, was pretty awesome. But now that everyone was so close together, there was no way I could get out of this crowd. I sighed. I suppose I'll have to get Dave's gift another time.

Mondatta raised his hand, waving it out into the crowd. "Human, Machine, we are all one within the Eris."

The crowd erupted in cheers, waving their sighs and posters.

"Before me I see a future. Humans and Omnics standing together. United by compassion, common hopes, and dreams."

As he spoke, I noticed Tracer turning in her spot, looking up in the opposite direction of the speaker. "Everything okay?" I asked.

Tracer turned her head back towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Hope, keep an eye on Mondatta for me, will you, love? There's something I need to check out."

After a slight hesitation, I nodded slowly. "Sure thing."

"Thanks," She smirked. "Be back in a jiff!"

I watched as Tracer carefully maneuvered her way through the crowd before focussing my attention back on Mondatta and listened to his speech. Did Tracer noticed something that I didn't see? Was there something off about this?

The crowd erupted with cheers of praise, louder this time. At first I kept my attention towards Mondatta, but there was movement coming from behind him that distracted me. It was his security guard. He raised his hand to his ear, pressing against an ear piece of a walkie talkie. Judging from how tense and hunched his shoulders and muscles were, I had a feeling something might have been wrong.

It looked like he was speaking to someone. He stepped to the side, covering his other ear to hear the speaker properly. Then his eye brows stretched up, like his eyes were widening. Like he just heard something that he didn't want to hear. I watched as he whipped around, walking towards Mondatta as another security guard, that stood by at the front row of the crowd, made his way up as well.

"Sir, there's been a breach, we need to leave," said the guard as he and his partner stood between Mondatta, escorting him off the stage. "Chariot this is team one, Halo is coming in hot."

I watched as the audience cleared a path for the trio as they began to move forward. Taking cautious steps, I made my way through the thick crowd, watching Mondatta as the Overwatch Agent requested. I activated my communicator again, switching it back over to Tracer's frequency.

"Tra-- Uh, Lena, Mondatta is on the move," I spoke. "Security is moving him to his limo."

"Thanks for the update, Hope," She replied, huffing and puffing. It sounded like she was running. "Stand by."

"Roger that," I nodded, cutting the feed.

I continued to make my way through the crowd as I neared the side of the audience, getting closer to Mondatta and his bodyguards. The limo pulled up near the crowd as another guard stepped out of the vehicle and opened the door for the Omnic.

As I watched them, I grew worried about Tracer. Was she alright? What did she find out? Was she chasing after someone or was she being chased?

Before I filter through any more scenarios in my brain, there was a sudden and quick shake, followed by a loud 'BOOM' that erupted in my ears as everyone gasped her screamed, turning around to look at where the noise had come from. I followed their gaze and that's when I saw it. Eyes widened and both hands covering my mouth.

Tracer was back first flying through the air towards the square. Another one was following closely behind her, only she didn't seem even a tad afraid for her life. She had long silky black hair in a pony tail, had black night vision like googles strapped to her forehead, had piercing yellow eyes, and strangely enough... blue skin? She also wore a purple and grey spandex suit, split open slightly in the chest area, and purple high heel boots.

Not only that, but she carried a sniper rifle in her hands, and she was aiming it right at Tracer!

The entire scene happened in slow motion. The sniper pulled the trigger, firing a bullet from her weapon. It soared for Tracer, but using the accelerator strapped to her chest, she teleported out of the way of the bullet. I began to sigh with relief, glad that my newly made friend was alright. But then I froze, catching myself as I watched the bullet zip right for Mondatta, nailing him right in the chest!

I watched as the Omic Monc collapsed inside the vehicle, his chest filled with crackling sparks. That's when I realized it. The assassin wasn't aiming for Tracer at all. She was really going for Mondatta because she knew Tracer would use her accelerator to get out of the way, not realising where exactly she was falling to in order to avoid certain death!

It was so clever, yet so evil at the same time. I didn't know what to think.

The crowd erupted in a frenzy as security guards moved in to hold them back. I looked back up at the rooftops, recalling the building where the explosion took place. I pushed my way through the crowd, just barely making it out of the thick wave of bodies as I sprinted for the alley way, finding a emergency fire escape.

I jumped, grabbing the ladder as I pulled it down before climbing up, then jogging my way up the stair way as fast as I could. Once I made it to the top, I was about to jump out into the open, but I caught sight of Tracer tackling the assassin. I ducked down, poking my head out ever so slightly as I watched the two women topple across the roof.

Tracer pinned the enemy opponent in the end, her head just dangling over the edge of the roof as her long pony tail blew in the wind.

"Why?!" Tracer shouted, holding back tears. "Why would you do this?"

The assassin only chuckled in reply, smirking. Tracer pulled back, taken back by the blue skinned woman's response.

Before I could try and pop out again, a bright light blinded me as I ducked back down, looking up to see a strange looking jet hovering in the air, shining a spotlight on Tracer and the assassin. The jet was a metallic black with red tinted windows.

The assassin grabbed Tracer by the collar of her jacket, jerking her forward. She mumbled something to her before she back flipped the two of them over the edge! I yelped, jumping up onto the roof as I ran for the edge. I heard a crash, followed by some grunting. I looked over the edge to see Tracer on her side. She struggled to keep herself together as her Accelerator sparked and fizzled.

"Lena!" I cried.

I made my way down to the second roof, running towards the Overwatch agent as the ship took off in the distance. I knelt by her side, checking for any signs of blood.

"Lena, are you alright? Who was that?!"

She coughed, as she reached for my shoulder. I grabbed her arms, slowly bringing her up to her feet. "She used to be Amelie Lacroix, but now,"  She hissed, the crackling of her broken Accelerator brought pain to her chest as she grabbed her side. "The ones who live to see another day, they call her Widowmaker."

"Widowmaker?" I repeated, bringing her arm around my shoulder so I could support her weight.

"Talon brainwashed her. Turned her into one of their own." Tracer grunted.

My eyes widened when I heard that word. What if... what if Reaper wasn't the only one in Talon searching for the other Overwatch agents. What if this, Widowmaker assassin, just used Mondatta's speech rally to try and get to Tracer all along?!

"Hang on, Lena," I soothed. "I'll take you back to Winston. He'll know what to do." 


	5. Dave Ivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope's brother starts asking questions!

I brought Tracer back to the ship as quickly as I could. Propping her up on the hoover scooter, I went as fast as my little mode of transportation could carry us.

Lena brought me up to speed on her entire encounter with the assassin working with Talon during the trip. How she spotted her just around the corner from the rally, chased her across the rooftops of the district, all leading up to the explosion from setting of Tracer's bomb and Widowmaker's evilly constructed kill. The rest I already knew.

The sudden sparks of the crackling accelerator startled me from time to time, but I never faltered on my speed. As of now, Lena Oxton's well being was my top priority, and it all depended on how quickly I could get her to Winston so he could help her.

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, spotting Winston's ship just over head. At that point, I slammed my foot on the ground and pushed forward, increasing my speed even more. I pulled up to the ramp, coming to a sudden halt as I helped Tracer off the scooter and carried her inside.

"Winston!" I called. "Where are you?"

"Perfect timing, Hope," Winston spoke up, his voice coming from the cockpit. "I just fixed the Engine Accelerator."

"Well can you get in here and fix Tracer's Accelerator?" I asked nervously.

Sensing the sudden change in my voice, Winston emerged at the top of the staircase that led into the cockpit. When he spotted his dear friend in my arms, quietly groaning from the pain that ached in her chest, he snorted his nostrils with shock. The gorilla quickly made his way down the stairs, waving me over to one of the passenger seats closest to him.

"Bring her over here,"

I did as asked, bringing her over to Winston as he pulled on the seat, stretching it out into a bed. Carefully and gently, the two of us placed Tracer back first onto the bed. Winston squinted his eyes, adjusting his glasses as he examined the Accelerator.

"How bad is it?" I asked with concern.

"Don't worry too much about me, Hope," Tracer assured me with a cough. "I've been through worse."

"While your statement is true, Lena," Winston spoke up, bringing out a pair of tools, getting to work. "There's no point in making Hope worry even more."

"So when you say worse, it was even more bad than getting back flipped off of the edge of a roof and body slammed into a circuit breaker?" I questioned.

"Wait, what exactly happened out there?!" Winston finally asked, looking up at me.

"It was Widowmaker," Tracer coughed. "She killed Mondatta."

"She what?" Winston stuttered.

"Widowmaker showing up around the exact same time I picked up Tracer doesn't exactly feel like a convenience," I spoke up suddenly. "I think she was just using Mondatta's assassination to get to Tracer!"

"How can you be sure?" The girl with the British accent asked.

"From what Tracer told me about her side of the story, Widowmaker could have just up and ran when Tracer turned her back on her to check on Mondatta. Only she didn't. She's a Talon agent, and Reaper is working with Talon," I explained. "I don't think he's the only one that's going after the other Overwatch agents."

"Oh boy," Winston sighed with disapproval.

This is not what he wanted to hear. First Reaper, and now this, Widowmaker assassin? The opposing adversaries were slowly starting to increase. The race to gather find the Overwatch agents just got a tad more difficult and intense. 

Before I could go on any further, my cell phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket and took a look at the screen. Seeing the name, my eyes widened as I nearly choked on my spit. It was Dave.

"Who is it?" Tracer asked.

"It's my brother," I gulped, looking between her and my phone.

"Go on and answer it, love," Tracer spoke, raising a steady hand as she placed it on my left arm. "I'll be fine. Winston will take care of me."

Slowly nodding with a quick smile, I stepped to the side, swiping my finger across the touch screen. I raised the phone to my ear, cracking the knuckles of my free hand nervously. "Hello?"

"Hope, hey! Everything going okay?" He asked.

"For the most part, yeah," I answered with a slight pause. "I'm sorry for not getting touch with you earlier like I promised."

"Did something happen?" Dave questioned. "I hear an edge in your voice."

"Um, w-well," I stuttered, trying to calm myself. I hated lying to my brother. I couldn't tell him that I was helping reunite Overwatch. They were illegal after all. But sadly, I didn't know what else to say then, "We were on our way back to our hotel and there was a peace rally going on. Mondatta was there actually,"

"Yeah, that's what I'm calling you about!" Dave spoke up, raising his voice a little. "I just heard on the radio that Mondatta was assassinated at King's Row. You were there? Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, really I am," I assured him. "But one of our co-workers that's on the trip with us, she got, uh, ambushed from all of the commotion of Mondatta's death. But the doctors said she'll be alright."

Dave sighed with relief. I imagined him running his hand through his hair. He tends to do that a lot. "I'm glad to hear about your friend, but I'm even more relieved that you're alright."

"Thanks, it's been a busy day down here," I smiled.

"You know what else I heard?" Dave piped. "I heard that there had been sightings of Tracer there too!"

My body froze, my fingers flexing out on impulse. "What?"

"You know, Tracer!" He repeated, sounding a little excited. "That Overwatch agent? I heard she was there too! Did you see her while you were down there?"

"No, I didn't see her," I answered immediately. "She must have been moving too quickly for me to see."

"Oh, well I suppose that makes sense. You know Tracer," he replied with a slight chuckle. "Blink and you'll miss her blink."

"Like your ping isn't in sync," I giggled in reply.

One of the ways my older brother and I bonded was sharing our love for the international organization. Dave loved rapping growing up, heck music in general, but that specific genre was always his favourite. It was a great hobby of his. We even tried to write our own little "Overwatch Rap" as a tribute to them, but we never got around to finishing it.

"Anyways, I'm sorry for not calling you earlier," I apologized. "And I'm sorry for also not getting you a souvenir like I promised."

"Let me guess; You were going to try and get me one around the same time as the attack?" He predicted.

"Right on the dot," I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Did mom and dad hear about the news?"

"Yeah, they did," Dave answered after a slight pause. "Though I'm going to lay low about you being over there, at least for now."

"Why?" I asked him suddenly. "You told them about my new job, right?"

"I did, I just forgot to tell them about your business trip," he explained nervously. "Plus now with what just happened with Mondatta and the rumours of Tracer's whereabouts, I just--"

"...Dave?" I spoke up, my voice quivering ever so slightly.

"I just don't want them to think you'll be a repeat of what happened to our grandparents." Dave admitted.

He... He had a point. Grandma and grandpa both died from getting caught in a crossfire between a terrorist group and the organization, despite Overwatch's attempt in trying their best to protect them.

"I guess our family is developing a bad of getting caught in crossfires," I let a light hearted chuckle escape my lips. But when I didn't hear a response from my brother straight away, I froze. "... Too soon?"

"No, no, it's fine," He assured me with a tired sigh. "I suppose our family in general has a habit of getting caught in crossfires."

"Hey, remember back in elementary school there was in fighting between the boys and girls basketball teams for a few years?" I recalled.

"Oh, yeah! You were the captain for the girls team for a few years, right?" Dave reminded.

"Grade Three to Five," I smiled. "And during the in fighting you always got caught in the middle of it despite the coaches telling you to stay out of it?"

"Hey, it never hurts to help out, especially if it's my little sister. Besides," he laughed. "If those boys thought that they were better than the girls, they were sadly mistaken."

"Yeah, I remember you taking Rodney Wayward's punch for me," I recalled, smiling as I remembered his bravery.

"He threatened to beat you if you and your team won a game against them," Dave replied. "I just told him I'd report him for un-sportsmen like behaviour."

I giggled as the memory flashed into my mind. Dave standing up to Rodney was pretty cool, but watching Rodney get dragged out by his coach was even better.

I slowly turned around, looking over my shoulder to see Winston helping Tracer to her feet. Her Accelerator practically looked brand new! She zipped around, appearing and re-appearing in different parts of the room to test out her newly repaired device. When Tracer was satisfied with the results, she jumped on over to Winston and gave him a big old hug.

I smiled at them. It looked like the two of them were the best of friends.

"Anways, Dave, the doctor just, uh, came out with my friend," I spoke up. "I should get going."

"Okay, no problem," he replied. "Does the Mondatta attack put out any delays to your trip?"

"Not from what I can see, no," I shook my head as I spoke slowly. "But we're only here for the day, and I think we are needed elsewhere after tonight. Orders from the, um, higher ups. I'll give you a call and let you know where I end up."

"Sure thing," Dave acknowledged. "I'll talk to you later then."

"Love you bro," I smiled.

"You too sis," I could hear the grin on his face. "Stay safe out there."

With that, I ended our conversation, putting away my cell phone as I walked back over to the Overwatch pair. "How are you feeling, Lena?"

"Like a whole new human being!" She exclaimed. "Thanks again, Winston."

"It was nothing to it, Lena," Winston smiled before his face lowered, frowning slightly. "Although I might not be able to keep this up for too much longer."

I raised a brow at the gorilla. "What do you mean?"

"We're lucky it was just a repair job for the Accelerator," Winston explained. "But what if Tracer was actually, physically hurt? I don't have the proper medical background for this kind of thing."

Tracer cupped her chin, deep in thought. She gasped suddenly, snapping her fingers. "But we do know someone who does!"

She zipped on other to the command center, typing away at the touch screen keyboard as a glowing line circled the holographic projection of the Earth. Winston and I watched as the line stopped at Switzerland, scanning the area before bringing up an Overwatch agent profile. The image was a 37 year old woman with short blonde hair in a elegant pony tail with piercing blue eyes and light skin. Her name was Angela Ziegler.

I gasped once I recognized the picture. "It's Mercy!"

*******

With Widowmaker added to the mix of more threats that stood in our way, we decided to split up. Winston decided to head to Switzerland to find Mercy, but not before dropping off Tracer and I into the United States. More specially, Deadlock Gorge, New Mexico where the infamous Route 66 was located.

That was also the last known location of the one and only Overwatch cowboy, Jesse McCree. 

It hadn't even occurred to me that it's still only been less than a day since we left my home town. Now that we're back in North America, instead of it being 6 hours a head, it was back 6 hours behind. I was tired, and not to mention hungry. I need some serious dinner snackage... or with the time difference, was it lunch now?

I huffed, wrapping my arms around my stomach, pressing against the fabric of my black tank top for a brief moment, stretching the sleeves of my blue leather jacket.

After the whole stunts in London leaving me in a sweating frenzy, I changed clothes during our 30 second jump from Switzerland to New Mexico. While I am glad that this place was much warmer than Vancouver and London combined, I was not up for sweating even more.

I thought about giving Dave a call, since I did promise him I'd let him know where I would wound up next. But he's going to get suspicious if I got from London to New Mexico in 30 seconds.

I looked over to my side, glancing at Lena.

"So where should we start looking?" I asked. "I suggest someplace that sells food."

"Hmm, knowing McCree, I suggest we start at the local diner," Tracer suggested. "I've heard he's pulled off some deeds down in these parts. We'll ask some of the locals if they've seen him around lately,"

My stomach gurgled again, causing me to groan. "And while we're there, can I get something to eat?"

Tracer giggled. "Sure thing, Hope. We don't want you adventuring on an empty stomach!"

The two of us made our way towards the diner. Along the way, tourists looked our way, murmuring and whispering. I immediately knew they were whispering about Tracer, and not me. I just hope we don't get into too much trouble while we're here. Especially since this is suppose to be one of the main stomping grounds for the Deadlock Gang.

Which was one of the reasons why this town isn't exactly popular with any of the locals anymore. The buildings around looked pretty run down, and graffiti could be found in different parts of the town.

If memory serves me right and I can recall my Overwatch history correctly, McCree used to be a member of that gang. But after a heist of theirs went wrong and he was arrested, Overwatch reached out to him and offered him a place on their team where he could use his skills for good, instead of serving time in the slammer. He was only 17 years old when he took them up on their offer, and boy did he not disappoint.

We entered the Panorama Diner just down the street. For the most part, the place was empty except for the diner staff.

"You go get something to eat, on me," Tracer spoke, handing me a credit stick. "I'll ask some of the employees if they've seen Jesse."

I nodded in reply as I hesitantly took her credit stick, making my way over to the bar as Tracer walked off to the side, catching the attention of a waitress who was cleaning one of the booths.

"What can I get you, dear?" An elderly woman asked me, handing me a menu.

"Um," I scanned the menu, searching through my options. "I'll have a Western Sandwich, with a glass of milk."

"2%?" She asked for clarification.

"Yes, please." I nodded.

"Comin' right up," she smiled, bringing out a small machine out from the drawer and onto the counter. "Just pay right here."

I plugged Tracer's credit stick into the machine as I paid for my order. Once the transaction went through, I pulled the stick out of the machine and put it in my pocket for safe keeping as the waitress placed the glass in front of me.

"Your sandwich will be ready in a minute."

"Thank you," I smiled.

I watched the waitress step out into the kitchen before taking a gulp of my drink. I guess you could call me a milkaholic. Now that I think about it, I probably should have asked for a bigger glass. Gosh I was starving. As I set my milk down, I overheard the conversation going on between Lena and another waitress.

"McCree? You just missed him sweetheart, he was in here last night," she spoke. "Stopped by for a quick drink."

"Did he mention anything unusual?" Tracer asked.

"Oh now that you mention it, he did mention something about being called back in, " she answered. "But now that you're here, I know what he was going on about. In fact, he left a message for you, should you come on down to find him."

She reached into her apron pocket, pulling out a slip of paper as she handed it over to Tracer.

"Thank you very much," the British Agent saluted with a smile. She made her way over towards me, taking the seat beside me as the elder waitress placed the sandwich in front of me.

"What'd he say?" I asked, taking a bite out of my meal.

Tracer unfolded the paper, showing it off towards me. "It says he's has a lead on the Deadlock gang. He'll rendezvous with us here soon."

"How _soon_ is soon?" I questioned, raising a brow as I took another sip of milk.

"Knowing McCree, who knows." She shrugged.

We sat there in silence for a moments as I devoured my meal. However that precious silence didn't last very long. The sound of motorcycles caught my attention, coming from right outside the diner doors. The expressions on the waitresses faces turned white as they quickly began to scamper about in a panic.

"What's going on?" I questioned nervously.

"The Deadlock Gang is here!" The younger waitress yelped.

"Hide you two, don't let them see you!" The elderly woman hissed.

Acting on instinct, Tracer used her accelerator to zip right out of the diner, leaping right through the open window to the right side of the diner. I was a little slow for reaction time, so by the time I made it half way across the restaurant, I could hear the heavy footsteps of leather boots making their way towards the doors, along with harsh bickering.

Panicking, I ran back, jumping over the side of the counter and ducking inside the serving around, staying low as I brought my feet up to my chest. I looked up to see the elderly woman place a hand on my head, signalling me by bringing her finger to her lips.

"Stay as quiet as possible, dear," she hushed.

*******

Poking her head up to look through the window, Lena Oxton watched as the Deadlock gang entered the establishment, bickering and talking to themselves. She caught sight of Hope Ivery hiding behind the counter, a look of pure fear in her face.

"I've got to get back in there and help her," she spoke, looking determined.

She brought out her dual blasters, and just before she was about to blink right back inside the building, she felt a strong, firm hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on there, Lena darlin'," a voice spoke up.

She whipped around and when she saw the figure before her, her eyes widened with surprise as the smell of tobacco from his cigar filled the air. "You--!"

"I'll handle these crooks," He spoke. "Where's your friend hiding?"


	6. McCree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know what time it is ;) It's High Noon!

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to pop right out of my chest. It's like Reaper and Talon breaking into Winston's lab all over again! I watched my breathing, making sure it wasn't too loud for the members of the Deadlock gang to hear.

"I can't believe this," one of them barked. "How in the Sam Hill do you lose a crate of plutonium?!"

"It wasn't our fault," another yelped. "It was your bright idea have us guard it over night instead of just taking it straight back to the train!"

"The cops would have been expecting us to do that, Chopper," their leader talked back. "What's even more embarrassing is that you all got taken out by one dang, gun slingin', showoff!"

"It was dark out there, we had no idea who he was!" another of the gang members defended.

A gun slinger? Could they be talking about McCree? He did mention in his note that he was running on a lead with the Deadlock gang. He must have taken the Plutonium from them!

"I swear, if it's Jesse McCree who pulled that stunt on us, I'll make sure he never see's another sun set," their leader growled.

I listened as his footsteps drew closer to the counter, the squeaks of the stool turning as he took a seat, his lackeys following behind him.

"Oi, Betty, bring up three rounds would ya?" He commanded, looking over at the elderly woman.

"S-Sure thing," she nodded, quickly making her way into the kitchen.

I shuffled slightly in my spot, tucking my knees even closer to my chest, if that was even possible. I glanced over to the side, just barely peeking over at the open window. I saw Tracer poke her head up ever so slightly, spotting me. She signalled for me to stay quiet and lay low before giving me a thumbs up as she pointed towards the front door.

My best guess was that she was going to attempt a frontal assault? Maybe to buy me some time to escape through the window?

Not really know what else today, I nodded with a slight hesitation. She smiled at me with a wave before ducking back down.

"Hey, Wayne, look at this," I heard Chopper speak. "Someone else was here!"

"What?"

I glanced up, seeing a tiny bit of my glass suddenly move. Uh oh...

"Betty, anyone else in here?" Wayne, their leader asked.

"There hasn't been anyone in here other than y'all for the last... Half hour or so," Betty answered calmly as she placed three beer bottles on the counter, standing next to me.

"Really now?" Wayne questioned.

I suddenly heard munching, followed by, "It still tastes pretty fresh to me," Chopper spoke with his mouth full.

Did he really just eat my sandwich?! Oh no, that is just so gross!

"I hear McCree sometimes frequents this place when he's in town," the other Deadlock gangster spoke up. "Maybe it was 'im!"

"Now Betty, sweet, sweet, Betty," Wayne cooed as he moved away from his seat. "You better not be lying to me, darlin'."

"Now why would I do that?" Betty replied as she began to move to the other side of the counter.

And judging by the footsteps I heard from the other opposite side of the counter, I could make a good guess that Wayne was following her every move. No, wait... Now there were two pairs of footsteps. One of Wayne's cronies must be following her as well. 

My mind began to race as my chest and back started heating up. Betty was lying to protect me. Someone she didn't even know, a mere customer! There was a high chance that those jerks might pull something on her. Try to hurt her, or worse yet, kill her in order to get the truth out of her! There just had to be some sort of way I could help her!

I looked over at one of the empty shelves of the counter, noticing a fry pan. I grabbed the handle, pulling out the kitchen utensil as I clutched it in my hands. I slowly began to crawl out of my hiding spot, creeping along the floor as I emerged away from the counter just as Wayne continued speaking.

"I'm going to ask you this one more time, and you better give me an answer I'll like," Wayne threatened, whipping out a pistol and aiming it at Betty. "Where is McCree?"

I suddenly sprang up, sneaking up on Chopper as I whacked him in the back of the head with the fry pan. He coughed out on  "OOF!" before collapsing to the floor. Wayne and the other Deadlock lackey whipped around, spotting me.

"What in the hell is this?" he questioned.

I caught sight of the elderly woman behind them, taking ever so quiet steps away from the pair. I had to think of something to distract them even longer if I want Betty to make a run for it.

"U-Unless you want to end up like your friend here," I stuttered, getting into a stance like a baseball player getting ready to bat. "I suggest you keep away from Ms. Betty, right now."  

Wayne snarled at me, aiming his gun in my direction as I shut my eyes and braced for the incoming bullets. I heard gun fire, and tiny gushes of wind blow by my face. When I opened my eyes, I noticed multiple holes in the frying pan. I looked over at Wayne, the hole of his pistol smoking. The sight startled me so much that I let go of the handle and dropped the frying pan.

"Or... you could do that." I commented.

His lackey pulled out his own pistol, aiming it at me as a way of ordering me to stay where I was. Wayne chuckles at me as he begins to turn his back on me, "Now where were we, Be--", Only to discover that Betty was gone. "What?!"

I smirked at his reaction. While he was firing at me, Betty made a break for it through the back exit of the dinner.

Wayne snarled, sending me a nasty glare as he aimed his gun straight at me and open fired. I tried moving out of the way, but I wasn't too quick enough, as the bullet just barely grazed my upper left arm. I ended up spinning before falling head first to the floor. I hissed at the insanely irritating pain, looking over to see the wound bleeding. I sat up slowly, pushing my free hand against the wound to try and stop of the blood.

As I did so, I heard footstep and when I looked up, Wayne had his gun pointed right at my forehead.

"You've got guts kid, I'll give you that," He spoke. "But you shouldn't have gotten involved."

"Blow her away, Wayne!" His lackey cackled.

If you thought I was terrified before, I was even more so now. Where the heck was Tracer? Doesn't she have some sort of plan?!

I shut my eyes again, waiting for it. I heard a gun shot fire, only I didn't feel any more pain. I opened my eyes to see Wayne's hand gun free. It had been knocked out of his hand, the man shouting a curse word as he grabbed his wrist and took a step back.

A new set of footsteps caught my attention, coming from the entrance of the diner. I looked over to the side to see a man, the hole of his revolver smoking hot. He appeared to be in his late 30's, with slightly tanned skin, messy brown hair with a matching beard and piercing eyes. He wore a light cowboy hat with a yellow and black chest plate with a red poncho overtop, brown leather glove on his right hand and a robotic arm on his left, pants with a belt that had a golden buckle that read "BAMF", and black kicks.  

"Didn't your momma ever tell ya that's no way to treat a lady, Wayne?" he spoke.

"Jesse McCree--!" Wayne hissed.

His lackey brought his fingers to his mouth, whistling loudly. The front door flew open as four more members of the gang entered the diner, blocking the way from the cowboy.

"What'cha gonna do now, McCree?" Wayne teased. "You're surrounded."

He was outnumbered 4 to 1. Well, 6 if I counted Wayne and his lackey. I suddenly felt a gush of wind as I watched a blue blur entered the room through the open window, and Tracer suddenly rammed the two gangsters closest to my location away from me.

"Do it Jesse!" She shouted.

The cowboy flexed his arm out, a grin splattered on his face. "It's high noon."

Within a flash, he whipped around and nailed all four of the Deadlock Gang members behind him! He literally fired his Peacekeeper and just let it rip! He took them all down like that were nothing!

"Whoa," I breathed.

Footsteps once again caught my attention as I watched McCree walk over towards me, kneeling down beside me. "You hanging in there, kid?" He asked, pointing over at my wound.

I nodded slowly, briefly checking the wound before meeting his gaze. "Y-Yeah."

I sat up, stepping behind me as he carefully helped me up from the floor, setting aside on one of the bar stools. He then proceeded towards Tracer who kept guard of Wayne and his partner, who she had tackled into a booth.

They both stirred, pushing themselves out of the seats and collapsing to the floor. Wayne shook off his injury, tilting his head up only to lock eyes with Jesse McCree.

"Unless you want to join your friends, I suggest you two run along all nice like, alright?"

Their skin turning a pale white, Wayne yanked his fellow gang member up from the floor as the two of them squired out, Jesse growling at them as the three of us watched them take their leave, the sounds of their motorcycles fading the farther they drove away.

When they were gone, Tracer breathed a heavy sigh of relief before walking over towards me and examined my wound. "Hope, I was worried sick about you! You alright, love?"

"For the most part, yeah," I hissed, moving my hand away for a brief moment as I noticed the giant blood stain on my skin and along the newly made hole in my jacket.

"Tracer, fetch me a knife from the kitchen," McCree spoke up. He put his revolver back in its casing as he removed his one glove. "Let me take another look at that."

"Sure thing," Tracer zipped into the kitchen, the clatter of utensils filling the room.

"How much do you like this jacket?" He asked me.

"I like the colour, but it's an old one," I shrugged. "Hardly wear it anymore."

"Good," McCree nodded, gently moving my free hand away from the wound as he my injured sided hand with his flesh one while griping my shoulder with his robotic hand. "I need to borrow this to bandage the wound, least for now anyway."

"Sure," I nodded.

"Bare with me now, this might sting a little," McCree cautioned. He gently helped me push my arm through the sleeve of my jacket, taking it off as Tracer jogged back in with a knife.

"Got one!" She exclaimed, handing it to the cowboy.

"Thank you kindly," he complimented, using the knife to cut the sleeve off my jacket from where the hole tore through. He tossed the knife aside, using the sleeve as a bandage he wrapped it around the wound, tying it up in the tightest knot he could make. "There, that should hold it."

"Thanks for the save," I smiled. "To be completely honest, I was expecting Tracer to show up."

"Well I came back into town earlier than I thought, and when I heard that were was a commotion here, I thought I'd see what all the who-rah was about," He responded, putting his glove back on.

"Well, you have obviously met Jesse," Tracer stepped up, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Jesse, this is Hope Ivery. She's Winston's new assistant who's helping us locate the other agents."

"Working with Winston, eh?" He perked up, placing his hands on his hips. "Has he driven you bananas yet?"

I laughed at his remark, smirking at the man. "Funny. He has his moments time to time."

"Pleasure to make your 'quittance, Hope," McCree greeted, tipping his hat in my direction. "Any friend of Tracer and Winston is a friend of mine."

"Pleasure is all mine, really," I replied with a smile.

Tracer leaned towards McCree, grinning from ear to ear. "She's a big fan of yours."

My eyes widened as my cheeks turned red. "Lena--!"

"What? It's totally true," She giggled.

"Did Winston tell you?" I questioned, pointing a finger at her. "I swear, I'm hiding his peanut butter from him when he gets back to pick us up."

McCree let out a hardy chuckle, slapping his knee. "Brave and quirky. I think we'll get along just fine,"

Tracer and I's communicators simultaneously went off, beeping in unison. Lena was the first to react, tapping the screen. "Winston's here, and he's got Mercy with him too!"

"Then what are we doing standing around here for? Let's get a move on," said McCree as he twirled up beside me, resting his arm around my shoulders. "Lead on, Hope."

"Um, okay," I spoke slowly.

Outside I must look like a nervous wreck. I could feel my cheeks burning up even more and I just couldn't stop smiling as the three of us made our way out of the diner, stepping over the corpses of the dead Deadlock gang members.

"Watch your step now, darlin's." McCree cautioned.


	7. Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio gets into some trouble on the way back. But you know what they say; Heroes Never Die!

Stealing one of the Deadlock gang's motorcycles, I rode with McCree as Tracer used her "blink" ability to keep up with us as we rode out of Deadlock Gorge and back to the shuttle.

The ride was actually quite thrilling. When I was old enough to get my drivers licence, my parents practically forbad me from riding one. My dad would always let me check them out and pose on one whenever he'd taking me to the annual Autoshow, but that was really it. The closest I've ever really come to riding a motorcycle were the times Dave and I went to the arcade and raced each other in a VR Racing game.

"Enjoying the ride?" McCree spoke up over his shoulder.

"Having a blast!" I replied, a wide smile on my face.

"We should be coming up to the shuttle just now you two!" Tracer yelped, dashing beside them.

"Race ya there!" McCree exclaimed as he revved the engine, increasing the vehicle's speed.

Tracer laughed. "Like we haven't been doing that already?"

I shared a laugh with the pair as I glanced around the area and something caught my eye. I peeked downward, squinting my eyes at one of the rear view mirrors of McCree's motorcycle. I saw some dust clouds forming behind us, and I could have sworn I saw a slight shine of metal. I turned my head back to try and get a better look at the scene. I could swear it looked like the faint resemblance of another motorcycle.  

"Um, McCree?" I spoke up, tapping his shoulder. "I see something behind us!"

McCree turned his head, briefly looking at me before tilting his head to the side to get a better view. He squinted his eyes to try and get a better view until his eyes widened. "It's not something, it's someone. Hang on!"

He revved the engine again to make it go even faster. Acting on instinct, I moved my hands from the cowboy's shoulders to wrap my arms around his stomach, worrying I might fall off the bike. "Sorry!"

"Don't be," he yelled. "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

"Obviously!"

"I'll cover you!" Tracer shouted as she brought out her blasters. She back tracked her steps and blinked backwards, firing a series of blue bullets at our follower.

The motorcycle seemed to be impervious to her bullets. It was also different in design to the cycle McCree was riding, so it wasn't another member of the Deadlock gang following us. I watched as the driver of the opposing cycle reached to pick up something from the side. I slowly began to realize what it was when the driver aimed it at our direction. It was a pistol.

I recognized that pistol.

Which meant that I recognized the driver.

"It's Reaper!" I screamed.

He fired a shot, the bullet soaring past Tracer, just barely missing her side as it went straight for the back tire of McCree's motorcycle, and the vehicle began to spin out of control.

"Hope!" McCree yelped as he shifted his body around, wrapping his arms around my body as he pulled the two of us off of the motorcycle.

I heard a loud "BLAM!" as the motorcycle exploded behind us, McCree using his body as a shield to protect me as best he could, the two of us tumbling across the warm ground and dust. My face was slammed into McCree's chest, my eyes locked shut as his metal hand protected the back of my skull and his other arm wrapped firmly around my back. I could feel the wound on my arm from earlier this afternoon pulsing, and I felt pain all along my legs.

McCree coughed, his chin tucked over my head as he pulled back slowly. "Kid... you okay?"

I opened my eyes slowly, glancing over to the side as Tracer blinked towards us. Reaper idled in the distance as he watched us for a moment before pulling back on his bike and taking off into the sunset.

"Oh my gosh," Tracer shirked. "No, no, no!"

She slowly attempted to push the two of us to sit up from the ground. My stomach felt funny, blood was slowly seeping down my arm and my legs absolutely killed.

"Lena, Jesse... I'm not feeling so good," I gulped.

"Winston, do you copy?" Tracer spoke into her communicator.

"Keep looking at me, Hope," McCree instructed, forcing me to look into his eyes. "Eyes on me, ya hear?"

Then suddenly, I felt all warm inside. Not the kind of romantic warm, I wasn't falling in love with McCree or anything like that. Although I did have a celebrity crush on him back in high school. I then noticed that myself and McCree got covered with a golden blanket of light. 

"Heroes never die!" A voice declared.

I watched as my newly made injuries were healed. The only one that remained was the leather tied up around the wound on my arm, but it wasn't bleeding anymore! It was like the motorcycle crash didn't even happen to begin with!

"What just happened?" I asked frantically.

Tracer desperately looked around before her eyes caught sight of something and a wide smile formed on her face. McCree and I followed her gaze to see a pair standing on a near by cliff that overlooked us.

"Looks like we came just in time," Angela spoke.

*******  

  
When we arrived at the shuttle, Winston and Mercy had everything set up for us. McCree made sure my arm was okay before handing me off to the doctor as she set me down on one of the chairs.

"What did you use to patch up the wound?" She asked.

"Leather," He shrugged.

"From my jacket," I added.

Her eyes widened with surprise as she met my gaze.

"It's fine, really," I assured her. "It was an old one anyway,"

"Let's take a look at it, shall we?" She suggested before looking over at Winston. "You can go on a head and take off Winston, this won't take long."

"Roger that," He nodded before making his way up the flight of stairs into the command centre.

I could feel the vibrations of the ship as the vessel came to life, slowly lifting off from the ground. As it did so, Mercy gently untied the leather bandage McCree whipped up for me. I was half expecting it to start bleeding again, but it looked like the wound had dried up a bit. It was still quite nasty to look at though. I hissed quietly at the sight of it, turning my head to glance away at it.

"It's not too bad, merely a flesh wound," said Mercy as she reached over to the side, picking up a strange looking staff. "Stay still now, I'll get you fixed up."

I watched as she activated the staff, and a trail of yellow energy shot itself out towards me and washed over my arm. It felt so warm and relaxing, I didn't want it to go away. Then right before my eyes, the wound on my arm shrank and shrank until, poof! It was gone just like that!

It was as if it wasn't even there to begin with!

"Whoa," I stared in awe before looking up at the doctor. "That was amazing!"

"Pretty neat, no?" She smiled.

"I've never seen medical equipment like that before," I shook my head with amazement. "What is that thing?"

"It is a device of my own creation. I call it; the Caduceus Staff," she explained. "By maintaining the beams, I can use the staff to heal the injured and increase their strength."

"Wow," I continued to stare at the device, slowly raising my hand towards it. "Can I touch it?"

Mercy giggled at my antics as she gently slapped my hand away. "I wouldn't advise that, dear."

"Sorry," I smiled cheaply as my cheeks blushed with embarrassment.

Lena tried to hold back a laugh, pucking her lips together with a snicker before the bubbling sensation took over her and she laughed out loud which only made me blush even more.

"Relax darling, Tracer does that all the time when she's in a good mood," Angela smiled.

She helped me out of the seat as I moved my arm around, checking its mobility. I didn't feel any pain whatsoever! I could feel the Engine Accelerator kicking in as the ship jolted forward suddenly, watching as Winston came walking back down the stairs.

"Where are we headed to now, Winston?" Tracer asked with excitement.  

"Traveling to Nepal," Athena spoke up. The holographic image of Earth popped up, zeroing in on the coordinates.

"What Athena said," Winston nodded. "That's where we'll find Genji."

I gasped upon hearing the name, my head perking up. "Genji?"

"He's another favourite of hers," Tracer whispered over to McCree, giggling with a tease.

"Hold up now, Hope, I thought I was your favourite?" McCree teased, ruffling my hair.

"Hey!" I yelped, batting his hands away as I fixed my hair. "Can't I have more than one?"

"What's Genji doing all the way in Nepal?" Tracer asked the gorilla. "I was expecting him to be back home in Hanamura."

"After Overwatch defeated the Shimada Clan and their criminal empire fell, Genji disbanded from our organization to, how he put it, become one with his new robotic body."

"Robotic body? You mean he's a cyborg?" I asked with surprise.

This was big news to me. This whole time growing up, I thought Genji was wearing some sort of super suit that enhanced his abilities.

"Before joining Overwatch, Genji suffered life threatening injuries after a fight he took part with his older brother, Hanzo," Mercy explained. "I found him and brought back to our headquarters and gave him his new body."

A fight with his brother? A fight that nearly killed him?! I pain of sympathy coursed through my chest as my hand formed into a light fist. It must have been tough, especially fighting your own sibling. I don't know how I would react if my brother and I ended up fighting like that.

"In exchange, he joined us into taking down his families criminal empire." Winston added.

"Did he ever... see his brother again?" I asked slowly.

"We're not sure," McCree shook his head with uncertainty. "If he did, he never said anything."

There was a brief moment of compressed silence in the ship. It seemed like a touchy subject for the Overwatch agents to talk about. Finally Winston coughed, adjusting his glasses.

"Anyways, he's been staying with the Shambali, back at their temple in Nepal," He explained, "That's where we'll find him."

******

After a few impatiently long seconds of waiting, the shuttle arrived in Nepal. The cool mixture of snow and wind blew against the ship as it gently touched down near the entrance to the Shambali Temple. I took a quick look at it through the window of the command center, and it was quite the sight!

The building itself was mostly beige bricks with golden paint highlights along various parts of the temple. Snow covered the rooftops and two rows of golden Omnic statues were stationed to create a pathway to the entry way of the temple. 

My face lite up as I moved away from the window, jogging down the stairs to meet up with the others.

"Alright, Genji, here we come!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, Hope," Winston cautioned as he stuck his hand out, catching me. "I'd like for you to stay here this time."

"Aw, really?" I pouted.

"I'm just worried about the possibility of you getting hurt again, after what happened back at Route 66," He reminded.

I sighed, processing the possible scenario in my head. He did have a point. Sure I didn't get hurt back at King's Row. But I'm pretty sure Widowmaker would have done a number on me if she had spotted me when I was coming back to the rooftops to check on Tracer. Plus there's the fact that a Deadlock gang member shot me in the arm, and Reaper nearly killed both me and McCree on the way back to the shuttle. Placing my hands on my hips, I slowly nodded in agreement. "I guess..."  

"I'll be staying with you," Mercy perked with a smile. "Don't want you getting bored now, do we?"

"Guess not," I shrugged.

"Don't worry kiddo, you'll see Cyborg Ninja Dude when we bring him back with us," McCree assured me as he nudged my shoulder.

"Cyborg Ninja Dude?" I repeated with a hardy chuckle.

"It's a little nickname he made up for laughs," Tracer piped. "Hang in there, Hope, we'll be back before you know it!"

Winston pushed the button that opened the giant side door, the cool breeze blowing inside as the temperature went down from warm to cold in a matter of seconds.

"We'll say hi to the Shambali for you!" Tracer waved before blinking a head of the others as they made their way towards the temple.

Once they were far enough, Mercy resealed the door and the room started to warm up again.


	8. Genji

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyborg Ninja Dude has surfaced!

While the others were gone in fetching Genji from the Shambali Temple, Mercy and I were back inside the ship. While we waited, Mercy took the time to teach me how to fire a gun. More specifically a pistol.

It was most likely that I might get caught into a lot more crossfires with our enemies. If I want to avoid getting hurt and have a greater chance of not getting killed, I needed to learn how to protect myself.

"Steady now, aim at your target," Mercy instructed.

I stood a few feet away from a practice drone. It hovered in the air, blinking its little optic at me. I got into position, aiming the pistol at the drone.

I stood there, my body shaking ever so slightly. After a few moments without firing a shot, I lowered the weapon, looking over at the Doctor. "Are you sure it's okay for me to shoot them?"

Mercy nodded assuringly. "It's completely safe, Hope."

I stared at her for a moment before nodding with understanding. I turned my head slowly, looking back towards the drone.

"Feet apart, and relax the muscles in your shoulders," she added.

I did as told, taking a quick breath to relax myself. When I opened my eyes, I glared at the drone as I pulled the trigger and a serious of energy pulses fired out of the weapon, and struck the drone. After the last shot, it crumbled to the floor, falling apart.

"How was that?" I asked the medic, sounding hopeful.

"Very good for your first try," she clapped, stepping towards me. She gently placed her hands on my arms, bending them slightly. "Make sure not to completely stretched your arms out too much, or else they'll get stiff."

I nodded with understanding. "Avoiding getting stiff, got it."

Mercy hummed with approval as she pressed a button on the remote. The pieces of the drone suddenly vibrated before piecing themselves back together, making the drone whole again. At the same time, another one spawned right beside it.

"Now, try it again with two targets," she smiled.

I averted my gaze back to the drones, getting into position once more as I raised my weapon at the targets. Feet apart, relax the shoulders, don't stiff the arms...

I breathed in through my nose before pulling the trigger, firing the energy pulses at the first drone, then the second one. They both came crumbling down, beeping those little noises they make when shutting down.

"Nicely done," a voice suddenly spoke.

The new voice startled me to the core. I jumped in my place as I nearly dropped the weapon, just catching it with my hands as I turned around to see Winston and McCree. The cowboy chuckled at my reaction with a sweet smile as he winked at me, stepping further into the room. "Hiya Hope,"

Winston was also there, smiling with approval as he looked over at our new guest that stood beside him.

"G-G-Genji--!" I stuttered with surprise, my eyes widening. "Uh, sup?"

I was so focused on my target practice, I didn't even notice the side door of the ship opening up!

"Sup," he greeted. "My apologies if I startled you."

"No, no, it's fine," I waved my hands with assurance, nearly dropping the weapon to the floor again. "I was just focusing on, well, that, and you just took me by surprise is all."

"Genji, this is my new assistant, Hope Ivery," Winston introduced. "She'll be helping us in locating the other agents."

"It is an honour to meet you," Genji greeted, stepping forward as he extended his hand towards me.

"And you as well," I smiled, shaking his hand. "I'm a big fan of you."

I heard a cough, though it sounded fake, as I glanced over at McCree who tipped his hat over his eyes, shifting his weight.

I sighed, rolling my eyes playfully. "Yes, McCree, you're still one of my favourites."

Genji laughed at the sight. It sounded so gentle and warm. "I see that you're getting along well with the rest of the crew."

"It's been a blast so far," I shrugged, my smile growing.

"Then I look forward to working alongside you," Genji nodded.

"You can drop your things over here, Genji," Winston directed as he lead the cyber-ninja to the back of the ship where the lockers were located.

I watched them take their leave before looking back over to the side door to see Tracer walking along side an omnic monk. He wore yellow baggy pants with orbs floating around him like a necklace.

"Zenyatta, it's an honour to meet a member of the Shambali," she praised. "Mondatta was an inspiration."

"To us all," he replied. "I miss him very much."

Mondatta? That's right! He was the leader of the Shambali! Was this, Zenyatta, a colleague of his? A student maybe?

"Hope," Tracer piped, waving at me. "Come say hi to Zenyatta!"

Shaking off my gaze, I made my way out of the shuttle and out into the snow. I crossed my arms, rubbing them with my hands as the cold breeze blew by, pinching my skin. I picked a bad day to wear a tank top. But then again I had no idea I was going to Nepal. I stood before the pair. "Hi Zenyatta, uh, how do you know Genji?"

"He is a student of mine," He explained. "He came to this temple many months ago to find peace with his new body, and so I took him under my wing."

"And he's been here the whole time?" I questioned.

"He has preferred to stay here within the temple," he answered. "But when he received your friend's signal earlier today, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for him to get back out into the world."

"The two of you have developed quite the bond then, haven't you?" Tracer predicted.

"He's become a wonderful addition to our monastery," Zenyatta nodded with confirmation. "Although I know that he can't stay here forever."

"I will miss you dearly, Master," Genji spoke up suddenly as the three of us turned to look up and face him from the entry way of the shuttle. "You've helped me come this far. I promise to not disappoint."

"I know you won't, Genji," Zenyatta assured with a quiet chuckle. "It's late, I won't keep you waiting."

I stood there for a moment, an idea popping coming to mind. With Reaper, Widowmaker, and all of Talon as opposing threats, who knows who else may join the fray? Wouldn't it help to have more aid?

"Zenyatta?" I called, turning back to face the floating omnic.

He stopped, turning back to face me. "Yes, Miss Ivery?"

I made my way towards him, Tracer tilting her head to the side as her eyes trailed my direction with curiosity. I stopped in front of the omnic monk, shoving the pistol into my jean pocket before cracking my knuckles nervously. "Um... Would you be interested in tagging along with us?"

His head perked up as he turned his body completely around to face me. "Really now?"

"If you know, you're okay with it?" I suggested with a shrug. "You could still train with Genji, and perhaps share your knowledge and wisdom with us?"

Zenyatta pondered at the thought, cupping his chin with his hand as he processed the offer in his mind. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. What do you think, Genji?"

"I say, welcome aboard, Master," The cyber-ninja teased.

"What about you Winston?" I asked, the gorilla stepping beside Genji. "Is there room for one more?"

Winston shrugged with a smile on his face. "Why not?"

"Wicked!" Tracer exclaimed.

The three of us made our way back inside the ship as Genji shut the door behind us, the warm air inside welcome us with a warm embrace as we left the cold behind us.

****** 

  
The ship flew through the night sky, hovering up in the clouds over Asia. Winston advised that I'd take advantage of the long flight and get some sleep, considering that I've been practically up for almost 24 hours.

I'm not sure how long I was out for, but by the time I woke up, it appeared that a significant amount of time had passed. The lights in the main hull of the ship had dimmed a little as Tracer, McCree, and Mercy were sitting and chatting at the booth. Zenyatta was in another corner of the ship meditating, the orbs around him glowing and occasionally jumping up into the air, making a chime noise.

"Cool," I whistled quietly.

I looked around the ship again, spotting Winston in the pilot seat and Genji leaning on his side against the wall, standing behind the gorilla. I pushed the blanket off me as I sat up from my bed. I folded the blanket and tucked it away on a shelf before folding the bed back up into a chair. Stepping up the stairs into the back of the ship, I opened up my locker, opening up my suitcase as I pulled out a green leather jacket. I slipped it on as I shut my locker door and walked down the steps. I waved to the trio at the booth as I crossed the hull, making my way up the stairs to meet up with Winston and Genji.

"Sleep well, Hope?" The gorilla greeted.

"For the most part, yeah," I rubbed my eyes, taking a seat in the passenger chair. "Where are we headed?"

"We are travelling to my old home, Hanamura," Genji answered. "Since you invited my new master to join us, it gave me the idea to recruit someone of interest."

"I did?" I raised a brow at the ninja. "Who are you going to ask?"

"My brother, Hanzo," He answered, his arms crossed.

My eyes widened upon hearing that name. Hanzo, the eldest brother of the pair. The man who believed that he had killed his younger brother.

"Does that trouble you, Miss Ivery?"

I zoned out of my train of thought to notice Genji staring at me. I could literally feel the stare of his eyes piercing through his visor and looking right into my soul. I shook my head, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear before answering. "No, not at all."

"Who told her?" Genji immediately questioned, looking back over at Winston.

"Myself and Mercy," The Gorilla answered. "Go easy on her Genji, she was just curious."

"I'm sorry if I upset you in anyway," I apologized looking up at the cyber-ninja, standing up from my seat.

"I'm not mad," He assured the girl. "You just took me by surprise."

"So, why Hanzo?" I asked. "If you don't mind me asking?"

Genji stood there silently for a few brief moments before turning his head towards Winston. "Winston, may I have a quick moment with Hope please? Alone?"

"Uh, sure, Genji," Winston nodded with a slight hesitation. He pressed a button on the console before taking his hands off the steering wheel. "Athena, take control please."

"Auto-pilot engaged," she spoke. "Approximate arrival time to Hanamura, 30 minutes."

"Thank you," Genji thanked as the two of us watched Wisnton make his way down the steps. When he was gone, Genji gently took me aside, sitting me back down in my seat before sitting across from me. "Hanzo isn't aware that I'm still alive, that much you know."

"After the Shimada Clan fell, what happened to him?" I asked.

"Hanzo had shortly already left the clan after our fight," Genji explained. "However I have my sources. I have been told that every year on the day that he killed me, today, Hanzo goes back to Shimada castle to pay his respects, and to heal his wounds. Numerous times before have I thought of trying to reach out to him, let him know I was alright. But because he had left our home and the clan, I have been enable to obtain his exact whereabouts until recently."

"You hope to make amends with your brother?" I realized.

"That is the plan," He nodded. "Although I'm sure he'll be most surprised when he sees me like, this..." Genji looked down at his metal hands, examining every detail.

I slowly reached my hand out, grasping his left hand as he looked up and met my gaze. "This is your brother, Genji. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you, and be glad to know that you're still alive. No matter what new form you have taken."

"Thank you for your words of encouragement, Hope," He complimented. "Even if just a little, it relaxes my nerves."

"So why are we not just warp jumping to Hanamura now?" I questioned, moving my hand away. "Why are we taking so long to get there?"

"I wanted to formulate who I would approach my brother," Genji answered. "This is a delicate subject, so I'll need to proceed with caution."

"Make a game plan," I replied with understanding.

"Indeed," He nodded in agreement.

"Any way I could be of assistance?" I offered. "I got sidelined joining the others in getting to pick you up. I want to help."

Genji cupped his chin, thinking for a moment. "I may have one thing in mind," 

*******

Dispite Winston's protests in wanting me to stay on the ship where it was safe, Genji managed to convince him otherwise. I know Winston meant well. He just doesn't want to see me getting hurt again.

To avoid getting spotted by the public, I followed Genji up to the rooftops and we made our way across town from there. It was a little difficult trying to catch up to the ninja. I haven't ran this much since high school!

He was a few buildings a head of me when he stopped at the end of a block, scanning the area around him as I stumbled forward, fianlly catching up to him. My legs were starting to feel sore, my throat was dry, I felt an uncomfortable pinch in my stomach, and I was breathing quiet heavily.

"Are you alright, Hope?" He asked  with conern.

"I'm fine," I wheezed. "Just need to-- catch my breath."

"We'll stop and wait here." he spoke, crouching down.

"Why?" I questioned.

He simply pointed forward towards the left and I followed the trail of his finger to notice a beautiful and majestically crafted Japanese castle. The wooden walls were painted red and white, with black tiles for the roofs and towers, and a two dragon swirl was stamped on the front doors.

"Is that---?" I spoke with uncertainty.

"Shimada Castle," Genji clarified. "My home."

"And you're sure Hanzo will show up?" I asked him, glancing over at him.

Before he could answer my question, the ninja suddenly flinched, bringing his finger to the bottom half of his mask, signalling me to be silent as he gently pulled me closer towards him, and pointed out to the right, just down the street from the front gates of the castle.

Down the street were a few shops and a ramen restaurant at the end of the block. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be looking at at first, but when I saw something move in the shadows. That's when I saw him. A man in his late thirties dropped down from a roof top, landing on his two feet at the end of the block. He poked his head up, looking around to see if the area was clear. He had black hair that was tied up with a long yellow ribbon, plus a matching coloured beard and bright brown eyes. He wore a black robe with yellow patterns that covered his upper right part of his torso, leaving his other half completely bare to show off the incredible ink he had displayed on his left arm. The intensely crafted tattoo ran from his upper chest and stretched down all the way his left arm, just stopping at his wrist. It was a mix of black, blue, and yellow.

"Wow," I whispered with amazement.  

  
He also wore dark grey leg armour and boots. They had to be possible some sort of enchantment, because when the cost was clear, he quickly squired down the street, completely passing the building Genji and I were hiding a top as he leapt up with such grace and climbed up the front gate, jumping into the front grounds of the castle.

"He's quick," I commented.

"Then we must be quicker," Genji added. "Let's go."

The two of us made our way down the side of the building using the fire escape as the two of us ran down the street towards the front gates of Shimada Castle.

"You might be able to scale that thing like your brother, but I know for sure I can't," I stated.

"Don't worry, I'm not making you do that," He assured. "Besides, we're not going this way."

"Why not?" I asked.

I was interrupted by the sounds of yelps and grunting, followed by the sounds of the clashes of fighting happening on the other side of the gate.

"Follow me," Genji ordered as he sprinted to the side.

"What's going on in there?" I asked with a yelp as I squired after the cyber-ninja.

"The Shimada Clan may have fallen, but some of its underlings are still assigned to guard the castle from any unwanted intruders," Genji explained. "Hanzo is taking out the guards as we speak."

"Why not just wait until he's taken them all out before going in?" I questioned. "Shouldn't we stop him?"

"That would ruin the element of surprise," Genji replied. "This way."

I continued to follow the ninja down the side of the castle until we came across one of the lookout towers. Genji used his sword to slice the lock open before swinging the door open. He allowed me to go in first as the two of us made our way up the spiral staircase. Once we reached the top and I stepped out into the balcony, I was met with a few of the entire courtyard of the castle. I noticed the unconscious bodies of the castle guards, just there on the ground as Hanzo raced under an archway and made his way across the second half of the yard.

"What now?" I asked.

"I will follow him from here," Genji explained. "Make sure that the two of us aren't attracting any unwanted attention. If you race outside to the other end of the building that Hanzo is heading, you should find a balcony. I want you to wait for me there."

"More running, got'cha," I nodded with a hefty breath.

"I know you can do it, Hope," he encouraged, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I will meet you there shortly."

With that, Genji was off. He leaped forward over the wall and touched down into the courtyard. I watched him race towards the building Hanzo entered, but instead of going in through the front door, he went for the side wall, scaling it as he crawled in through the open window, vanishing from my sight.

Once he was gone, I looked back at the guards to make sure they were still out for the count before I booked it back down the stairs, exiting the lookout tower and began my trek around the outside of the castle. All of this running around mentally reminded me that I should get back into the habit of working out so I wouldn't feel all of this uncomfortable pain.

Finally running after what seemed like forever, I found my way standing at the back of the castle, spotting the balcony Genji talked about. I stopped for a quick moment to catch my breath. On occasion, I stood up on my toes to try to get a better view to see if anyone was up there yet. I heard a pair of voices, but I still couldn't see.

"Come on, come on," I hissed impatiently.

The sounds of metal clashing soon caught me off guard as I jumped back with a yelp. At one point I spotted Genji doing a backflip through the air before sinking back down and out of my line of sight. Just what was going on up there?

Then I spotted Hanzo soaring backwards as his back slammed right into the wooden fence of the balcony, his head spinning from the sudden crash. With a gasp I watched as Genji jumped into the air, his sword at the ready as if... as if he were to stab Hanzo right in the chest! Hanzo just raised his weapon, a dark blue metal bow, catching the sword as his body along with Genji's extra weight made the wooden fence crack, a few pieces chipping off. The tip of Genji's sword was just a few mere inches away from Hanzo's face. I could hear the older brother growling as he used his upper arm strength to keep the bow and sword hovering.    

I covered my mouth with my hands at the sight. Were they fighting? Why the heck were they fighting?! Does Hanzo not know who Genji is?

"You think you honour your brother with incense offerings?" Genji questioned, his fists shaking as he held a tight grip on the handle of his sword. "Honour comes from ones actions."

Hanzo huffed, shaking his head. "You dare to lecture me about honour?!"

I immediately knew it was about to get down even harder, real quick.  "Uh oh..." I muttered.

"You are not worthy to say his name!" he yelled.

Hanzo suddenly pushed forward before shifting his body around so that Genji was up against the fence Hanzo caught Genji's neck with his boy before flipping him right over his body and tossing him aside, taking off in the opposite direction.

Oh no... this was not good. I surpassed a quiet scream that was muffled with my hands still pressed against my lips. I prayed to GOD that Genji was alright.

That's when I saw it.

There was a sudden bright blue glow coming from where Hanzo took off to. I heard a loud chant come from his mouth, followed by a quick "WHOOSH" before two giant spirit dragons took form, coming straight for Genji!

At this point I dropped my hands to my sides, gaping at the sight. "What. The. Heck?!" I yelled.

I quickly took a look around the neighborhood to see if any of the locals were around to see this. Since I was my job to keep a look out after all. Surprisingly enough, there was nobody around. As I turned my head back up towards the balcony, I froze, the pupils of my eyes shrinking.

There was a sudden spark of a green glow comin from Genji's location, as a giant green spirit dragon took form as Genji screamed a phrase as well.

"There's two of them?!" I yelped, grabbing my hair and pulling at it as I watched the display.

I watched as the green dragon guided the two blue dragons around Genji's body before it launched them right back towards Hanzo as they phased right through his body before vanishing into thin air.

After that, it was silence. One minute passed, then two minutes. I couldn't hear anything after that. I held my breath, fidgeting nervously. Was Hanzo hurt? What did Genji do?!

Finally just as I was about to try and find a way inside, I heard Genji's voice as I looked up to see the cyborg ninja standing at the edge of the balcony.

"The world is changing once again, Hanzo," He spoke, glancing over at what I imagined was Hanzo. "It's time to pick a side."

With that, Genji leaped forward, landing on the roof of another lookout tower. I breathed a sigh of relief. Genji was alright, thank goodness. Faint footsteps caught my attention as I looked back over to the balcony to see Hanzo standing there, his weapon ready and aimed at Genji's back.

"Real life is not like the stories our father told us," he shouted. "You are a fool for believing it so!"

My eyes widened at the display. After everything Genji tried to do, Hanzo was going to shoot him?!

"Perhaps I am a fool to think that there is still hope for you, but I do." Genji replied. He glanced back over at Hanzo as the eldest brother lowered his weapon, his angered expression fading away. Genji turned around completely to face his brother, raising his right hand to his chest. "Think on that, brother,"

With that, Genji vanished in a puff of smoke like something out an old anime I saw on TV one time. I was completely marveled by the sight I almost didn't notice a feeling that I was being watched. I turned back to look at the balcony of what I thought of Hanzo heading back inside the castle, but instead he was holding his arrow with his free hand, and he... spotted me.

We locked eyes for a few seconds. He looked down at me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. Enable of what to say or do next, I stumbled to the side, racing down the street.

"Genji, wait up!" I called.

I had a feeling Hanzo's expression changed after he heard me call out to his younger brother. A random girl to his eyes. But I had to meet up with my new friend, and find just exactly what the heck had happened inside Shimada Castle.


	9. Hanzo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Hanzo come through and reunite with his young, thought to be dead, brother?

"What the heck was that?!" I whispered harshly, eyes widened as I trailed behind Genji.

The two of us were quickly and quietly roaming away from Shimada Castle. I was determined to find out what exactly happened between the two brothers. Did something go wrong? Did that cause the fight that led to them summoning dragons out of thin air?

"Genji, what happened in there?" I asked, pulling up beside him.

The cyborg ninja filled me in on their entire encounter. Genji's introduction, how he found his brother Hanzo inside the temple where he was paying his respects to, what he presumed to be dead, younger brother, followed by the archer attacking him since he believed Genji to be some sort of hired assassin to kill him, and the rest I already knew.

By the rest, I mean the whole spirit dragons showing up and Genji's dramatic curtain closing exit.

I whistle with astonishment, shoving my hands into my pant pockets. "Dang. That's a lot to take in."

"Part of me wishes that I'd have done this sooner," Genji spoke. "When I received Winston's recall, I thought of this as the opportunity I needed."

"So, what about Hanzo?" I questioned. "I mentioned that you told him that it's time to pick a side. Do you really think he'll go back with you? Maybe join Overwatch?"

It was possibly I was getting my hopes up a little too high, and perhaps Genji was thinking the same thing. But Genji was willing to try anything to reach out and get his brother back by his side again. No matter how big or drastic, and I found myself actually hoping this would all work out.

"Only time will tell, Hope," Genji answered with a tired sigh. "But, knowing Hanzo, I have faith that he will come through."

"How long before you think he'll give you an answer?" I asked.

"I am not sure," He shook his head. "Knowing that Winston will want to gather the other agents as quickly as possible before they get discovered by Talon, let us hope that it will be soon. Very soon."

"So we'll wait back at the shuttle then?" I suggested.

"That is the plan, yes," He clarified. "Tomorrow we'll search the city for him if we must."

Just as we were rounding the corner, a noise caught my attention. At first I thought it was growling, like a stray dog was hiding behind the dumpster in the alley way across from us, getting ready to strike. But instead I felt vibrations in my belly, followed by a quick swell of pain as I wrapped my arms around my stomach.

It was gurgling.

"Hope?" Genji tilted his head my way, stopping in front of me.

"It's my stomach," I realized. "I'm starving!"

Genji sighed with relief before a quiet chuckle escaped his lips. "You nearly had me there for a few moments. I'm sure you can whip something up back at the ship."

"I don't think I can wait that long," I told him with a quick hiss. "I need food in my mouth, like, right now."

It hadn't really occurred to me how much time has passes since the last time I ate. Although I felt like I hadn't eaten in days.  

Genji hummed with distress as he looked around the area and noticed a neon lights sign just a few buildings down. "There is a ramen shop over here," He spotted, gently placing his metal hand on my back as he guided me towards it.

Could I even buy ramen? I didn't have any money with me, I left my credit stick back at the shuttle. But then I realized something. I reached over to my back pant pocket and pulled out a credit stick. Tracer's credit stick. I had forgotten to give it back to her when we were at Route 66!

Well in my defense, we did get caught up in a stand off with a few members of the Deadlock gang, not to mention McCree showing up and saving my life. I guess she wouldn't mind if I used it just one more time, right? It's just to get some ramen.

"Want me to go in with you?" Genji offered.

"I can handle it, Genji," I replied. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up to you."

"Are you sure?" He asked with concern. "The streets of Hanamura aren't exactly pleasant, especially at this time of night."

"I'll be alright. You can go on a head and alert the others of Hanzo's possible recruitment," I explained. "I would just call them with my communicator, but I'm so starved I can't concentrate on anything else."

Genji stayed silent for a brief moment before nodding, the green light of his visor flashing in the dim-lit street. "Very well. I'll go on a head."

"If I ever run into any trouble, I'll give you a call on my communicator. Here," I used the communicator to scan the Japanese symbol on Genji's chest. It filed through the Overwatch data base and identified Genji's I.D. and added his com-link connection to my contacts. "I've logged you in. Are we good?"

"Yes," Genji replied.

  
I nodded in agreement, and just as I was turning around to enter the shop, I felt something metal grab my hand. I turned my head and looked down to see Genji's metal hand. The metal plating was a little cold, but smooth. I looked up at his visor, possibly meeting his gaze hidden behind the mask.

"However, if I don't see or hear from you for some time, I'll come and get you," he stated. "Do you understand?"

I quickly nodded, comprehending the words that were spoken to me. "Fully."

Genji nodded again as he slowly pulled his hand away before taking off, climbing up the side of the building we spied on Hanzo and vanished in the rooftops.

******

I was in and out of the Ramen Shop in 5 minutes flat. It was a little tricky ordering at first. Who knew watching subbed anime would actually help me learn some of the basics of the Japanese language.

I decided to get Shoyu Ramen. It was a soy sauce based ramen, containing thick noodles, some pieces of pork belly, a boiled egg, bamboo shoots, and green onion. I have to admit, it smelt pretty dang good. I managed to get a few bites of it as I left the shop. It tasted pretty dang good too.

"Okay, I got my food," I breathed a sigh of relief. "Time to make my way back,"

As I walked up the street and just as I was about to turn the corner to enter the next street over, when the sound of loud, wood creaking caught my attention. I stopped, turning around as my gaze fell to the front gates of Shimada castle. The guards Hanzo had taken out stepped out into the street. The one up front spotted me, pointing in my direction.

"It's that girl from the lookout tower!"

I froze. Wait... they didn't see me did they?!

I mind frantically raced back in time to the moment I watched Genji sneak into the castle before I made my way back down the tower. As I was heading back into the building, I shifted my gaze over to the guards that were knocked out at the front courtyard. I must have been going so fast, not wanting to get caught, that I didn't realize that one of them spotted me!

"She must be working with Hanzo," He growled. "Get her!"

The sight of them charging at me put in a panic. I dropped my ramen to the ground as it splattered on my boots with a yelp. I scampered backwards before finally getting the feeling in my feet back as I made a dash down the alleyway. I was huffing and puffing so much that I swear my breathing was louder than the clanks of the heels of my boots slamming against the stone tiles.

I checked behind my shoulder, seeing the guards running after me. The majority of them were human males, with one or two omnics in the group, and they all wore matching black suits. It was like I was an alien and I was being chased by the Men in Black!

I quickly scrambled my arm forward, powering on my communicator as I tapped Genji's I.D. number. The ringer continued to go off as I poked out of the alleyway and into another empty street. "Come on, come on!"

Finally it stopped ringing and a voice spoke through the speaker. "Hope?--"

"YOU WERE RIGHT, I SHOULD HAVE GONE BACK WITH YOU!" I shouted.

"Hope, what is happening?" Genji immediately responded with great concern in his voice.

"The guards from Shimada Castle spotted me and they're chasing me through the streets of Hanamura!" I yelped. "They think I'm in league with Hanzo!"

"What street are you on?" he questioned, the sound of the ship's side door opening echoed in the background.

I frantically looked around for a post sign that would tell me the street name, but I was running so fast I was worried I might have missed it. But as I jerked to the side to run into another alley at the end of a street, I spotted the sign. "I'm entering an alley way on Okami Road."

"I'm on my way," he proclaimed.

I was looking down at the holographic screen of my communicator when the call ended. Just as I was tearing my gaze away from it, I ran right into a brick wall and collapsed to the ground. My head hurt like hell as I slowly pushed myself up. There was a good chance I was bleeding, but from where I didn't know. I didn't really have time to check as footsteps caught my attention.

The guards were at the other side of the alley, blocking the only exit that was available to me. I was now officially cornered.

I chuckled nervously, raising my hands. "I-I-I don't want any trouble,"

"Then start talking, girl," the leader of the guards cracked his knuckles. "Where is Hanzo Shimada?"

"I-I-I don't know! He just took off," I answered, my voice stuttering as I slowly began to back away. "I don't even know where the heck he went!"

"Are you working with him or not?" He barked. "We saw you at the lookout tower!"

"I don't even know the guy," I stated, my hands hitting the brick wall. "I swear!"

"Looks like we may need to beat the answers out of you, girl," He growled threateningly.

I gulped, my palms starting to sweat. Uh oh. I took one more step backwards, and I ended up backing right up against the brick wall. But then I did, I noticed a sound of a "CLANK" tap against the brick. I looked down to my side jacket pocket, reaching inside it and feeling a metal object inside. I flinched, my fingers grasping it tightly.

It was the pistol Mercy gave me for target practice. Winston made me take it with me while I went out of Genji, just in case I got caught in any trouble. I completely forgot about it!

Two of the men made their way towards me. I waited for the right moment to try my retaliation. When they were close enough, I whipped the gun out and used it to slap the guard closest to me right in the face. I then fired a shot at the second guard, who whirled around and collapsed to the ground, clutching his shoulder as he groaned from the pain.

No signs of blood. The blaster must be set to stun.

I looked up at the rest of the group to see their sudden looks of surprise. I took aim at the group, standing firm. "I have a weapon, and I'm not afraid to use it," I spoke, my voice still shaken. "If you let me walk away, I promise you won't end up like your friends."

"You think we're scared of a little sting? Hardly!" The leader snarled.

He stayed back as the rest of the three guards came charging at me all at once. It was quite intimidated to say the least. I fired a series of shots, the pulses just barely grazing their shoulders and sides. They must be the team muscle of the group. The two up front, one human male and an omnic, caught me, forcing me to drop to my weapon as they rammed me back first, right into the brick wall before tossing me to the ground.

My back was killing me, and my shoulders were incredibly sore. That hit didn't exactly help with my already bleeding head injury. The side of my head stung even more now, and before I even realized it, my vision slowly started to blur. This was definatly not good.

The two guards that tackled me into the wall, each grabbed my arms and pulled me up to my knees. The third guard that trailed behind them, formed his hand into a fist as he first sucker punched me in the face, then he proceeded to hit me in the gut. Twice. I was really starting to feel uneasy now. I swear I could taste blood inside my mouth.

"Now I will ask you one more time, girl," the leader growled, staying behind.

The third guard grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at his boss as the man crossed his arms.

"Where is Hanzo Shimada?"

There was a sudden "SWOOSH!" as something soared down from the sky. It pierced right through the third guard's arm. He wailed from the pain as he let go of my face and fell to his side, clutching his arm. It was only then did I manage to get a good look at the object that pierced his skin.

It was an arrow.

"Here I am!" A voice proclaimed.

Swiftly, Hanzo jumped down from the rooftops. His sudden appearance startled the two guards who had a grasp on me as they both released my arms in fear.

"Get down!" he shouted.

I quickly ducked down, shielding my wounded head as I hunched low. With a swing of his boy, Hanzo whacked the remaining to guards right into the wall. The impacts on their heads knocked them out cold as they both collapsed in a tile of trash.

My body shaking, I slowly lowered my hands as I raised my head, looking up at the powerful form of the elder Shimada brother. He stood in front of me protectively with his bow armed and ready, his arrow aimed at the head of the guard leaders.

"Are you alright?" he asked me, yet his eyes never strayed from his prey. "Can you stand?"

It took me a moment to reply to him, as I was processing the last 10 seconds that happened. Hanzo Shimada literally came out of nowhere and saved my life. Someone he didn't even know. He most likely noticed that the guards were chasing me, so he decided to run after me. But from what Genji has told me about his older brother, Hanzo must be rescuing me so he can find out more about my acquaintance with his "not actually dead" brother. I don't blame him really. The poor guy thought he had actually killed Genji for all this time.

"I-I-I think so," I gulped, slowly sitting up to my knees.

The guard leader had his cell phone out, it's screen lighting up indicating that it was powered on. "Back up will be here any second. What hope do you have in defeating us, Hanzo-kun?"

"You're lying," Hanzo growled. "You rats were the only ones squiring around in my home!"

"You did not think that there were more of us out here?" He grinned.

Screeching tires caught our attention as a few vehicles pulled up by the entrance of the alley, their headlines brightening the dark and narrow area.

"Uh oh," I muttered nervously as numerous armed thugs stepped out of the vehicles, standing guard.

"What are you going to do, Shimada-san?" Their leader cackled. "You only have one arrow left!"

I looked over at Hanzo's back and I noticed the container where he would keep his arrows were empty. He was right. Hanzo must have used them all during his fight with Genji back at Shimada Castle. But if I recall correctly, there just might be one thing Hanzo just might be able to do with just one arrow. Something special that Hanzo can unleash.

I could sense it, and I knew Hanzo could as well.

He took a deep breath, pulling the arrow back just a bit further. It imitated the thugs as they aimed their weapons at the archer. He glared at them, slowly loosening the grip of his fingers as he spoke, "Ryuu-ga, Wa-ga-te-ki-wo, Ku-ra-u!"

Right when he released the arrow, the two bright blue spirit dragons were summoned. Their roars erupted my ears, along with the sounds of the thugs weapons firing. Hanzo turned around, shielding me in the event that the bullets would come our way. We heard cries, and metal crashes, and car alarms going off.

When the roars began to quiet down, Hanzo's arms loosened around me as he carefully helped me up to my feet. He allowed me to lean on his side to help keep my balance and support. My vision started to clear up again as well as I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes. It was only then that I got a good look at the carnage the spirit dragons left behind. "Whoa," I whispered with astonishment.

All of the weapons were on the ground. There were no traces of the Shimada Clan guards bodies anywhere as far as I could see. Did the dragons evaporate them some how? The vehicles for the most part seemed to remain intacted, but the sounds of their alarms going off was really starting to annoy me, esspecially with my bleeding head.

"You... did all of that?" I questioned, looking up at the archers face.

Before he could get a chance to reply however, a cough caught both of our attentions as we focused back towards the exit of the alleyway.

What annoyed me the most, was that the leader of the guards was still alive! He had ducked down and out of the way of the dragons just at the very last second, or at least that's how it appeared to look like. When the cost was clear, the man sprang up to his feet with a yelp. After witnessing his men being eaten by two giant dragons, he pulled a pistol out of his pocket, and aimed it at the two of us.

"Oh, you're in for it now, Shimada!" He yelled.

But before he could get a chance to pull the trigger, a quick green blur caught the corner of my eye as Genji caught the man's throat with his sword. The edge of his blade barely grazed the man's skin as he flinched, frozen with fear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Riku-san," He threatened.

Riku's eyes widened after hearing him speak, like he heard the voice of a ghost. "G-G-Genji?!"

Moving swiftly, Genji pulled back his sword, flipped it around, and knocked Riku in the back of the head with the back end of the sword's handle. Riku lay unconcious on the ground, dropping his weapon in the process.

"Cutting it a little close?" I spoke up.

"I had believed that Hanzo had the situation under control," Genji replied.

"Genji, you know this girl?" Hanzo asked.

The cyber-ninja nodded with confirmation. "She is a new friend of mine," He jogged towards us, assisting Hanzo in carrying me as he drapped my other arm around his shoulders. "What did they do to her?"

"She has a bleeding wound on the side of her head," Hanzo explained, the three of us making our way out of the alleyway. "It requires medical attention."

"Angela can fix this easily," Genji assured.

"There's also the fact that I taste blood in my mouth," I quickly added. "They sure do know how to throw a punch."

"Now you see why I didn't want to leave you out here alone," Genji lectured.

"Remind me to never doupt you again, Genji," I sighed. "Winston is never going to let me tag along with you guys on a mission ever again once he sees me."

"Oh you've got that right," A voice spoke up.

I looked up to see Winston waiting for us around the corner. He had his arms crossed, eyes fixated on me.

"Crap..." I muttered, hanging my head.

"Don't give me that, Hope," Winston sighed as the three of us neared him. "I'll be sure to have a firm word with you when Mercy is done fixing you up."

"Thank you for waiting out here," Genji spoke to the gorilla.

Winston nodded in reply before his gaze turned to the archer.

"He's okay, Winston, he saved me back there," I spoke up, turning my head to meet the archer's gaze once again. "Thank you,"

"You are most welcome, Hope was it?" He replied, raising a brow.

I nodded. "Hope Ivery,"

"Brother, would you be willing to help us escort Miss Ivery back to our shuttle?" Genji asked. "I will answer any questions you have for me there."

Hanzo said nothing at first, exchanging glances between Winston and myself before focusing his attention back on his brother. "Of course,"


	10. Athena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope recovers from her injuries after her run in with the guards at Shimada Castle. What does Winston have planned for her? Will she ever go back onto the field?

The trek back to the Overwatch shuttle was long and exhausting. If it wasn't for the fact of my injured body, we would have returned sooner. Genji and Hanzo wouldn't have to carry me, and Winston wouldn't have to hang back to make sure I was doing okay. Maybe the _firm word_ the scientist will have for me might be a good idea. I can't keep going out into the battlefield if I'm going to keep getting myself hurt.

Once we got back, I was out like a light. I slowly fell asleep as Mercy got to work healing my wounds. Every once in a while I would stir from my slumber. I could make out some voices in the background. Genji introducing Hanzo to the others. First there was Winston, who had thanked the man for saving my life, followed by McCree who was also thankful for what he did, and also made a comment whether or not to call him _Arrow_? Hanzo politely declined, but I had a feeling he wasn't too happy about that nickname. Then Genji introduced his brother to his new master, Zenyatta. Hanzo thanked the Omnic for watching over his younger brother, and Zenyatta replied in kind.

I blacked out again, then stirred once more. I wasn't in that much pain as I once before, so that's a good sign. I could feel Band-Aids on my face, and bandages wrapped around my head. I figured Mercy, or Angela, would have just used her staff to heal me. I suppose my wounds needed a lot more tentative and proper care. I could hear quiet chatter between Angela and Winston, going over updates about my recovery. Athena would put in her input every once in a while, if there was any changes to my condition.

I could also hear Winston and Angela exchange whether or not the gorilla should put me on the side lines. I caught key phrases such as, _"I know she means well,"_ and _"I just don't want her getting hurt again,"_   or my absolute favourite, _"Or killed, for that matter."_  

I could hear Mercy speaking up to him in reply. _"She certainly seems to mean well. McCree  and Lena told me what exactly happened  back at Route 66. Did they not tell you?"_

I drifted back to sleep again. By the time I woke up, for real this time, I was temporary blinded up the bright lights above me before my eye sight adjusted. I heard a voice, preferably male. He was singing. It sounded familiar to me too. I slowly glanced over to the left, spotting my phone being brought up right in a charging station. Lucio's newest single, **"You Gotta Believe"** , was playing softly in the background.

A shuffling figure caught my attention next. I shifted my gaze over to a familiar cowboy. Jesse McCree was taking a nap, slouching in his chair with his hat covering his face in order to muffle is quiet snores. The faint scent of tobacco whiffed my nostrils. He must have lit another one of his cigars earlier in the day.

"Didn't know you were a techno fan," I spoke, my voice sounding a little dry.

McCree stirred, his hat falling into his lap as he sat up, rubbing his eyelids to get the "sand" out of his eyes. "Hope, hey," he yawned, placing his beloved hat back a top his head. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thank you," I complimented. "How long was I out for?"

"Almost 24 hours," the cowboy answered. "We're still hanging around in Hanamura. We wanted to wait for you to wake up first, before we head off anywhere."

"Is **Arrow** still around?" I questioned with a tease.

The cowboy froze for a brief moment before bellowing a quick chuckle. "You picked up on that, didn't 'cha?"

"I dozed off here and there," I shrugged with a smirk. "Who put the music on?"

"I did," he stretched his arms out, the stiff joints cracking softly. "Winston told me how you liked listening to music so much while you worked back home. I reckoned you wanted something nice to wake up to."

"That's very kind of you, thank you..." I paused got a brief moment, raising a brow. "Do you prefer Jesse or McCree?"

"Which ever suits your fancy kiddo," he chuckled, the cowboy sitting up from his chair as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Now you wait right here while I go get Winston and Angela. I promised them I'd let them know that Sleeping Beauty over here has woken up."

"Funny," I mocked with a tease  "Although it is one of my favourite Disney films."

"Cute," he commented with a smirk. "I've always been a fan of those Toy Story films."

I smiled at Jesse before forming my right hand into a finger gun, aiming it at his chest. "Reach for the sky," Followed by making  a gun shot noise with my mouth.

McCree imitated getting shot, jabbing his hand to his chest. "Ack, you got me!"

The two of us shared a good laugh for a brief moment before our voices died down. I sighed, glancing up at the man. "I guess Winston's going to have that _firm word_ with me now."

"Most likely," The cowboy nodded. "I've been in similar situations before back in my early days being in Overwatch. Just try to relax."

I watched as Jesse McCree began to make his trek towards the steps that led to the cockpit of shuttle. I cleared my throat, making my voice didn't sound as raspy as before. "He's going to ground me, is he?"

"Oh yeah, big time!" Jesse hollered.

I sighed, leaning back against the pillow under my head. I wondered how long Winston would put me on the sidelines for. Until I'm fully recovered, perhaps? I wasn't exactly sure. But I did know that with the amount of accidents I've gotten myself into it lately, it will most likely be for a very long time, that's for sure.

As I waited, I took the time to look around the ship. Tracer was in the sitting area, taking a nap on the couch. Zenyatta, Genji, and Hanzo were all outside the ship, sitting on the field near the entrance, meditating. Off in the distance I could make out the familiar lights and display of the city of Hanamura.

McCree was right about us staying in Hanamura, and if he was right about me staying down under for almost an entire day, it looked Hanzo had decided to stick around. We could be seeing a new Overwatch agent. Maybe I was getting hopes up, no pun intended, but it would be nice to use the extra help.

By extra help, I'm talking two giant, flying, energy, spirit dragons that will eat and swallow anyone who gets in their way.

I looked back towards my phone, plucking it out of its charging unit as it chimed, indicating it was fully charged. I took a look at the screen displayed before me, briefly taking in the cover of Lucio's single. Green sound waves floated to the beat of the music in the background, while over top, Lucio's mascot, "Ribbit" was plastered overtop in a green and white colour scheme. I paused the song, venturing over to my notifications tab to see if I missed any messages or calls.

There was a text message from Dave. He sent it half an hour ago.

**"Everything going alright? Where are you now?"**

I tapped the message, bringing up our text conversation tab as the virtual keyboard appeared at the bottom of the screen. I typed:

**"Yeah, everything is going fine. We're in Hanamura, Japan right now. I've just been... really tired all day. Working a lot these last few days."**

I sent the message, glancing up from my phone as I looked over at the meditating trio again. Footsteps caught my attention as I looked over to my left to see Jesse leading Winston and Angela down the stairs. At the same time, my phone vibrated, and I looked back down at the screen to see Dave's reply.

**"Wow, Japan! You really have been busy!"**

"Oh, you have no idea..." I muttered.

I quickly typed up a another reply to my brother.

**"Talk to you later? I have a quick meeting with my boss and other partners."**

I didn't wait for Dave to reply before setting my phone down in my lap as the trio neared my location.

"You seem well rested, Hope," Angela smiled with relief. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thanks to you," I smiled back.

"Vitals are stable, Ms. Ivery is all clear." Athena spoke up, displaying my statistics on her tablet screen.

"Let's remove those bandages, and then I'll let you and Winston have a moment to chat," said Angela.

The doctor helped me remove the bandages around my head and face. As I moved different parts of my upper body, I could feel small, quick shots of pain. Bruises. Just what I needed. I was going to feel sore for the next while, that's for sure.

As Angela helped me, Jesse went off towards Lena, ruffling her hair playfully in order to wake her up. She laughed at the cowboy's antics, bouncing herself up from the couch. The cowboy muttered something in her ear before the British agent nodded in reply. Once she caught my eye, she smiled brightly, waving at me as she and Jesse ventured outside through the side door, my guess in order to meet up with the Shimada brothers and Zenyatta.

"There," Angela spoke up, unwrapping the last of the bandages. "That should do it."

I removed the blankets that covered my body, revealing myself wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday. Green leather jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, and jeggings. I slipped my brown boots on as the doctor took her leave, heading outside to join up with the others. Now, there was only two.

"Now Hope, I understand you want to help out. I greatly appreciate that, and so does the rest of the team. But after the recent incidents that occurred, maybe it's best if you stay off the, um," Winston began, scratching his head nervously.

"Battlefield, in a way?" I guessed, raising a brow.

"More or else," he agreed with a nod. "Listen, what you did out there, protecting that lady and standing up against the Shimada Clan, that was very brave of you. But you hardly have any fighting experience expect for a 10 minute shooting practice with Mercy."

"Long story short; I could quite possibly die if I get into trouble again." I spoke for clarification.

"I don't mean to sound so harsh, Hope, but this is the truth that has been played out before us. If we happen to come across Reaper or Widowmaker again, and you're out there, I don't want to risk losing you by their hands," He explained.

"So, what's your plan? Keep me grounded in here? Send me back home?" I questioned.

"No, no, nothing like that," Winston assured me. "You're still a valuable member of this team."

"How?" I asked.

"Playing by your own strengths," Winston stated with a smile. "Walk with me."

Curious, I followed Winston across the ship, heading up the first flight of stairs. But instead of going all the way up to the ships cockpit, we stopped halfway, entering a small computer station off to the side. Winston pulled the chair out, motioning for me to take a seat. I hesitated at first, but obeyed the gorilla as I slowly sat down, pulling the chair in. The screen came to life, Athena's symbol taking up the black screen before it shrank down, tabs of data streams and code appearing all over the screen.

"What is all of this?" I asked, looking up at my boss.

"The Overwatch Main Database," he answered. "All of its files covering agents, history, weaponry, divisions, and everything between, is all in there."

"Everything?!" My eyes widened with shock as I exchanged a look with the gorilla before focusing my attention back on the screen.

"Your last encounters with Talon involving Reaper and Widowmaker have proven my equation. Reaper has already failed once in trying to acquire the database to hunt down the other Overwatch agents. His last physical appearance has proven that he will make future attempts at this mission," Athena explained.

"Like shooting out the motorcycle tire to try and gut me and Jesse," I realized.

"Precisely. Which is why I have speculated that they may try another cyber attack in the fear future," Athena replied. She opened up a brand new tab, purple letters and numbers filling the browser. "As I was rebooting my systems before we left Vancouver, I discovered this. A small trace of data from the device Reaper tried to install."

"That's pretty weird," I cupped my chin, tilting my head at the screen. "I've never seen purple coding before. Wasn't it red back when Reaper tried to hack your systems, Athena?"

"That's what I recall, yes," Athena answered.

"Show her what you showed me earlier, Athena," Winston commanded.

"Show me what?" I repeated, seeming confused.

"As I filed through the hidden data, a name came up. I believe it to be the title of this program that was hidden inside Reaper's device," Athena explained. The purple coding cycle stopped, highlighting a series of letters before bringing them together in two words.

**"Protocolo Sombra."**

"It's an easy enough translation from Spanish. It's something called Sombra Protocole, or maybe Shadow Protocole, since Sombra means Shadow in Spanish, but," I shook my head with upmost confusion, shrugging as I looked up at Winston. "What the heck is it exactly?"

"I'm not sure, probably some sort of failsafe they left behind. In the event their download didn't go according to plan," He muttered with disappointment. "But that's what I want you to try and figure out with Athena."

"Play by my strengths," I replied. "And find out what makes this thing tick."

"I'm sure with your programming and hacking skills, you and Athena can solve this little mystery Talon seems to have left behind." Winston stated.

"Athena, does Talon somehow know that you've their little spec?" I asked her.

"My discovery of this coding did not seem to trigger any sort of emergency firewalls or triggers," she answered. "We appear to be invisible to their sensors since this coding no longer resides in their online data banks."

"That's a good thing then," I nodded, cracking my knuckles. "Okay then, let's find out who or what this Sombra Protocole is. Are you with me, Athena?" 

"Whoa, hold on now, Hope," Winston cautioned, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You want to start now?"

"Well, why not?" I asked with a shrug.

"Perhaps you could get started early tomorrow morning," he suggested. "That way you still have some extra time to recover from last night's attack."

"Winston, I'm fine, really!" I assured with a plead. "Besides, I was asleep all day today in sickbay. I won't be feeling tired for at least a couple of hours or so. Plus with Talon still hanging around in Athena's systems, there's no time for rest."

"Only if you're sure," said Winston.

I nodded firmly. "I've never been more sure," I focused my attention back on the screen, typing away at the keyboard as I began to filter through the codes. As Athena and I scanned them, something caught my eye. One of them seemed to be out of place. "Wait, what's that?"

The cycling stopped again, and Athena zoomed in on the out of place code. When I got a closer look at it, it appeared to be some sort of image file. I clicked on it and an image popped up. Filled bottom to top with barcodes.

"What in the world?" Winston uttered, adjusting his glasses.

"It looks like a series of bar codes," I predicted, leaning forward in my chair. "If we want to translate it into actual code, we'll have to convert it to binary."

I highlighted the barcodes on the screen before opening up the calculator app on my both. I started with the bars at the top of the screen, doing the math on my calculator before rewriting the barcodes into numbers, then translating them to binary. Athena quickly followed suit, working with the ones at the bottom of the screen. With her being a super computer, she got her half done a lot faster than me. But once they were all done, I pressed the enter button and Athena processed the new numbers.

As I worked, at the bottom of the stairs, I could hear footsteps. It was most likely the rest of the team making their way back inside. Winston and I watched as they slowly morphed into small pixels, black and white, some bigger than others. When it was done, I zoomed out, making the browser screen small than it actually was, and the image revealed itself to be a---

"QR code? Like those things you scan for Snapchat and stuff?" I spoke a loud.

Pressing a button on the keypad, I captured a screenshot of the QR code. The screen flashed, and then the QR code suddenly began to fizzle out and formed a sentence.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Winston spoke with astonishment. "This is incredible, even if it is the work of Talon."

Once the transformation was complete, the sentence blurred out and appeared in a bold, purple, pixelated text. In Spanish.

"Okay, the title I could handle, but this? I didn't exactly learn Spanish while I was in school. French took over as our secondary language," I grumbled, face palming.

"I know someone who can translate this," Winston assured, turning his head. "McCree!"

The sound of the spurs from his boots clicked and rattle as Jesse McCree made his way up the stairs, grouping up with us. "You rang?" 

"We need your help with something," Winston told him.

"I'm not the best at computers my friend," He replied, raising his hands in defense.

"It's not that," I shook my head as I pointed my finger at the text. "We need you to translate this for us."

Jesse stepped forward, placing his right flesh hand on the top of my chair, the metal digit of his robotic left lower arm slowly trailing the text. He slowly spoke the Spanish text aloud;

**"¿Estuvo eso facilito? Ahora que tengo su atención, déjenme se las pongo más difícil."**

"What does it mean?" I asked him.

The cowboy froze in his place. The look on his face was a mixture of pure confusion, and he seemed to be... spooked? Creeped out? He pulled back from the screen, looking down at me.

"It means; _Was that easy? Well, now that I have your attention, allow me to make things much more difficult._ " he spoke.

The atmosphere around us suddenly grew intense as we all drew out attention to the screen. The bold text piercing at us as if it was staring right into our souls.

"What the heck is going on here?" I mumbled.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY IT'S HERE! This took so long to write, geez. I'll do better next time guys, promise! I also want to take the time to give a quick shoutout to @notsogroomp on Tumblr. She asked me if she could draw Hope Ivery and I'm so EXCITED!!! I can't wait to see how it will turn out! Thank you so much!!! You totally made my night when you asked me that. That's the first time someone has EVER asked me if they could draw my OC from ANY fandom I was ever a part of, so thank you!


	11. Doomfist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and the gang crack the next Sombra clue! Where does it lead them?

I stretched my arms out, a loud yawn erupting from my lips as it blocked out the sounds of my stiff joints cracking. "Anything yet?"

Athena and I have been hard at work in trying to encrypt the remaining codes in the Sombra Protocol. The first one we cracked was merely a simple greeting. A tutorial, in a way, to show us the basics of this "game". Who or what this Sombra character was, they were sure making this whole thing out to be some sort of game, that's for sure. Each new code was harder than the last. It was all too difficult for even Athena to crack, and she was the most smartest and brilliant super computer I've ever worked with.

Granted, she's also the **only** super computer I've worked with, but my point still stands. Every time we couldn't break a code, we moved on to the next one. Then the next one, and the one after that.

"Negative, Miss Ivery," Athena replied. "We seem to be unable to crack these series of codes."

She brought up the pair that we had referred to. Two pieces of codes, completely different from each other. Each of them of course had a solution, but at this rate, they seemed impossible to get to. Every time we had trouble with the first code, we moved on to the second, and then kept going back and fourth. I groaned out of frustration and tiredness. We've been working on this one for some time now. We can't solve one code without first figuring out the other. Not being able to crack any of them was really starting to irritate me. Glancing at the holographic clock next to the computer screen, it displayed: **7:30AM.**

I groaned again, my head hitting the desk. We've been at this all night. It felt like studying for exams back at VanTech all over again.

A quiet cough caught my attention. I lifted my head from the desk, turning my chair around to see Lena Oxton standing before me. She held a cup of coffee in each hand.

"How's it coming?" She asked.

"It's not," I muttered. "We haven't been able to crack the next two codes."

McCree had filled the others in on our little discovery of the Sombra Protocol. They were just as confused and utterly creeped out as we were when Athena showed them the encrypted message. Hanzo and Zenyatta were even more confused, as they were completely new to Overwatch and its operations, but they slowly learned thanks to the younger Shimada brothers help and aid. After asking around, they all concluded that they have never even heard of the name Sombra. If they are in league with Reaper, more specially Talon, whoever this person or program is, must have been a more recent addition to the terrorist group.

A cheap, helpful smile formed on Tracer's lips as she extended one of the cups of coffee towards me. "Thought you could use some energy from being up all night."

Normally I'm not too much of a coffee person. I've had the occasional Ice Cappuccino from Tim Hortons, but that was basically it. But smelling the aroma of the drink, it felt very tempting. I carefully took the cup in my hands, smiling back at the girl. "Thanks."

"No problem," she beamed, motioning her head. "Why don't you come outside and get some fresh air for a while? Might do you some good."

I hummed with approval, sitting up from my chair. "That's probably a good idea."

"I shall update you should I discover anything that we may have missed," spoke Athena.

"Thanks Athena," I obliged with a smile, drinking a gulp of my coffee. I must have been a lot more thirsty than I thought.

My computer station powered down as I followed Lena down the steps and into the hull of the shuttle. Winston was snuggled up in a blanket at one of the far beds of the room. Last night while Athena and I did our thing, Winston got to work at registering Hanzo Shimada as an official Overwatch agent. Even gave him his own communicator. I got the notification of Hanzo being added to my communicator contacts somewhere around 11:30pm, maybe midnight. I'm not sure. I wasn't exactly keeping track of the time at that point.

Although Winston won't put Hanzo's information inside the database. Not yet at least. If Reaper does try to hack his way into the Agent database again, we don't want him discovering the archer's information either. Who knows? He might tip it off to the Shimada Clan.

Meanwhile, everyone else seemed to be outside. I was surprised most of us were up this early, but I suppose it doesn't hurt. We are still in Hanamura after all. What if that Riku guy is still ticked about Hanzo defeating his thugs and Genji getting the jump on him? Would he be looking for them? Has he been looking for them? Who knows.

Lena and I watched as Hanzo did some target practice. He used his bow to shoot the arrows up at a tree, using the apples as targets. He was quite spot on.

Jesse whistled with astonishment, tipping his hat back to get a better view. "Pretty handy with that bow,"

The elder Shimada brother stiffened, pausing his training for a brief moment as he processed the compliment in his mind. "Thank you,"

"You're welcome," The cowboy nodded in reply.

"Earlier this morning, you weren't such a bad shot yourself," Hanzo spoke, glancing over at the man.

"Thank you kindly," Jesse smiled, whipping his Peacekeeper out as he did some fancy twirls. After his performance, he stuck the gun out towards the tree, firing a shot as it snapped off a tree branch, knocking down three apples to the ground. "Try and beat that."

Hanzo scoffed, rolling his eyes at the cowboy as he took aim at the tree, calculating where to strike. My gaze turned into a trance as I couldn't take my eyes off of the archer. He looked so focused, it was almost mesmerizing. The way he stood in his stance, his forearm making his tattoo stand out like that. Which reminded me; I have got to question Hanzo about that tattoo of his. It was incredible detailed. He released the arrow, firing it into the braches as it vanished into the leaves. There was a quick ruffle, followed by silence.

"Close but no cigar," Jesse signed, smiling with victory, puffing smoke out of his mouth as he smoked his cigar.

"Wait for it," Hanzo spoke, raising a finger.

Genji was watching with Zenyatta to the side of the shuttle, tucked away in the shade of another tree. The cyborg ninja sprang up from his mediating and jogged over before springing up and climbing the tree swiftly, disappearing into the leaves. There was constant ruffling as a few leaves fell from the tree, slowly swirling to the ground. Finally Genji jumped down from the tree, landing on his two feet and right hand. He stood up, showing off Hanzo's bow which was held in his left hand. Along with 5 apples that was logged into the metal stick like a cabob.

"I believe this is yours, brother," Genji spoke, returning the arrow to Hanzo.

"Thank you," Hanzo took the arrow in his hand. He looked over at McCree, smirking at the cowboy teasingly. "Close," He took a slow bite out of apple at the top of the arrow. He swallowed, then continued. "But no cigar."

I covered my mouth with my free hand, trying to hold in my snickers. Hanzo just totally schooled Jesse. That was fantastic!

Hanzo chuckled at the cowboy as he walked passed him. Jesse looked completely speechless. His mouth gaped open, the cigar dropping to the ground as it burnt out, the tiny trail of smoke soaring from the grass. McCree stood still as he just stared at the archer took his leave. He tried to speak, but he couldn't get any words out of his mouth.

"I know that look," Tracer whispered to me.

"What?" I raised a brow at the girl.

"Jesse," She motioned her eyes towards the American. "He's got it bad for Hanzo."

"Seriously?" My eyes widened slightly after hearing that. "No way,"

"Way," She grinned.

Jesse McCree and Hanzo Shimada? Together? Well, the two of them seem to be getting along with each other. Overall, Hanzo seems like he's adjusting to his new surroundings alright.

The archer neared us, taking his apple out of the arrow before extending it towards us. "Apple?"

"Why thank you, Mr. Shimada," Lena giggled, removing one apple.

"Thanks," I smiled at the Japanese man, taking the one after Lena.

"Let me know if you need another one, Hope," Hanzo spoke, looking over at me. "You've been up all night. You'll need to get your strength back up."

"I will," I nodded. "Thanks again."

He nodded in reply before proceeding inside the shuttle. Once he was gone, Lena and I walked down the small narrow hill, meeting up with the remaining trio.

"Well that was smooth, Jesse," Lena laughed.

"Aw shucks, Lena, come off it!" Jesse stuttered, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as he tipped his hat over his eyes.

"No, no, I think it's cute," She assured the cowboy. "Right Hope?"

My shoulders tensed as I nervously shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, it wasn't that bad, right?"

"Except for the part where he completely schooled you," Genji commented with a laugh. "If you thought that was bad, you should have heard our conversation last night!"

"Don't tempt me, Genji-kun," McCree cautioned, pointing a finger at him.

"It is all in good fun, Mr. McCree," Zenyatta hovered towards the group. "Genji, what do you say to Jesse?"

Genji sighed with a chuckle. "My apologies if I embarrassed you," He composed himself, bowing his head at the cowboy.

"Apology accepted, buddy," Jesse replied. "Can we move on to something else now, please?"

"Of course," Zenyatta agreed. "Ms. Ivery, what's the progress on the Sombra Protocol?"

"Athena and I have just barely scratched the surface," I muttered. I tapped the touch screen of my wrist communicator, bringing up a holographic screen of the two codes. I sat down on the grass, the others gathering around me. "We just can't seem to crack these two exact pieces."

The first code was a series of hexadecimal numbers. The majority were 2 digit numbers, while some where a number and a letter. It read, " **646f6f6d66697374".** The second code was an image of some sort of village. It appeared to be somewhere in South America, if I had to make an educated guess? The image however was a bit distorted in a way. The lights and lanterns in the picture glowed a bright neon green, other than the usual yellow glow. The sky was a lot more darker than it appeared to be. There was also a green line stretched through the top of the image.

"I just don't get it," I shook my head, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "I've never seen something like this,"

"Let me see the photo," McCree spoke up. I enlarged the image, tilting the screen over to the cowboy. He cupped his chin, examining the photo. "I know what this is."

"You do?" I asked, looking over at him with relief.

"This is a photo of Dorado, down in Mexico. This was an old tactic we tried once back in my Blackwatch days. While we're out on a mission, we'd use it to send messages to each other without the enemy knowing it. There's a message hidden inside the image." He explained.

"How can I encrypt it?" I questioned with eagerness.

"Watch and learn," He smirked. Cracking his knuckles, I brought up a virtual keyboard so McCree could work his magic. And last night he said that computers weren't his thing. I guess that's one thing he's good at with regards to hacking.

McCree google searched the actual image, then compared it to the distorted version. Finding the differences, he deciphered the image as it fizzled out and turned into the familiar, purple text in Spanish.

"Nice work, Jesse!" Tracer cheered.

"Not bad," Genji commented.

"What does it mean?" I pestured. I really need to start leaning Spanish so I wouldn't have to keep asking McCree. I kind felt bad about having to constantly ask him. I didn't want to feel like I was pesturing the cowboy or anything.

"It says: **Por que estan mirando al cielo? La respuesta no esta sobre sus cabezas, esta detras de ustedes. A veces, necesitan analizar sus logros previos** ," Jesse spoke. "Which means, _Why are you looking at the sky? The answer isn't over your heads, it's behind you. Sometimes, you need to analyze your previous achievements_."

"Previous achievements?" I repeated with confusion, taking a sip of my coffee.

"Perhaps the second code will help shed some light," Zenyatta suggested. "Since the two of them appear to be in correlation with each other."

Taking the omnic's advice, I casted the first message to the side, bringing up the hexadecimals in another holographic tab. The number 6 seemed to be a repeating number, and the letter 'F' shows up about 3 times in totally, with the only other letter showing up in the code is 'D'. Shouldn't there be one letter with each number though? Something didn't feel right to me.

"It's not coordinates mapping out to a location. It's not something for a graph either, but what could it---" I stopped, a light bulb going off in my head.

"Hope?" Lena perked, her head tilting to the side.

"Wait a minute..." I muttered.

All this time I was thinking it had something to do with math! But I was wrong! All I had to do was simply translate it into text, just like I did with the first code involving binary. How the heck could I have been so stupid!

"Athena, are you there?" I called.

"Always," she responded.

"Can you do me a favour and help me translate this into text, please?"

I opened up a new tab, bringing up a translator as I copied the hexadecimals and pasted it into the tab. I slammed the enter button with my index finger as Athena scanned the code. After a few brief moments, the numbers changed and flashed into a word. A single word.

**Doomfist.**

"Doomfist?" I repeated.

"Oh, I know that name!" Tracer exclaimed. "Doomfist was an old enemy of Overwatch. Well, the second Doomfist anyway, the first one was a good lad. Anyway, he was causing some trouble, so Winston brought him down back in the day."

"Back in the day," McCree drawled.

"Wouldn't that be..." Genji added, his voice trailing off.

I snapped my fingers suddenly as we all looked at each other, our faces lighting up. "Past achievements!"

I brought up the Overwatch Database, searching the keyword Doomfist. There wasn't too much about him. It showed files about the original Doomfist and his glory days, followed by reports of criminal activity by the second Doomfist, the one that Winston primal punched his way into a prison cell. Finally there was the report of his gauntlet being shipped off to a storage facility in South Africa. But these files were a few years old.

"But what would Talon want with Doomfist? He's in prison," Genji spoke. "Surely they don't possess the might to break a criminal out of a high security prison."

"It has to be something recent then," Tracer realized. "But what?"

I went back to Google, deleting the previous tag as I typed in Doomfist and pressed search. In the news section, the most recent article was published just a few hours ago. I clicked on it and it went straight to a National History Museum Website.

"The Numbani Heritage Museum?" I mumbled.

On the front page of the website was the Overwatch logo and a few pieces of memorabilia. The headline read, **"COME CELEBRATE THE LEGACY OF OVERWATCH IN OUR NEW EXHIBIT!"**

"An Overwatch exhibit?" Jesse raised a brow upon seeing the image. "I've seen one of those back in New York."

"But what does this have to do with Doomfist?--" that's when I saw it.

I double clicked, enlarging the image. Doomfist's gauntlet. It was going to be on display at the exhibit.

"It's his gauntlet," I spoke. "They're going to steal his gauntlet."

It took a few moments for that to sink in. Slowly, we all turned and just stared at each others facial expressions. Once it finally hit us, Tracer sprang up to her feet, shouting, "WINSTON!" She nearly spilt her coffee all over us too.

She then blinked a head of us, running for the shuttle as the rest of us scrambled to out feet and followed suit. I didn't care about my coffee at this point. Talon was going to break into the museum and steal Doomfist's gauntlet.

******

When we woke up Winston and informed him of Talon's plan of attempting to steal Doomfist's gauntlet from the Overwatch exhibit, he wasted no time in starting up the shuttle and setting the course for Numbani, West Africa. Nicknamed the "City of Harmony", Numbani is famous for being the go to city where humans and omnics live together in peace, and of course, harmony.

By the time we got there, it was still very early in the morning. Like, I'm talking 4 am early in the morning.

From that time onward until before the museum opened, Winston activated some of Athena's old surveillance drones to scan the area. Genji and Hanzo did their own scouting up on the rooftops, keeping an eye on things from there. Mercy, and Zenyatta  on standby back at the shuttle, Winston and Tracer were hiding out in an empty hotel room at the establishment next door to the museum, while Jesse and I were undercover, keeping watch of the security around the building.

The two of us were tucked under the shade of a patio booth with an umbrella at a Starbucks Cafe. Our seats with located on a balcony that over looked the museum, giving the two of us a perfect view of the building and its surroundings. McCree was dressed in a light blue and white plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans and black boots, with sunglasses covering his eyes. I wore something else other than my usual attire. If Talon does plan on stealing Doomfist's gauntlet, with if they sent Reaper to do it? He could recognize me since he nearly killed both McCree and I back in Route 66. With the city's _oh so welcome_ hot warm weather, I wore a green army camo t-shirt with white jean shorts and matching vans sneakers. Black sunglasses covered my eyes as well.

"You sure the sunglasses aren't a little much?" I questioned the cowboy. It was kind of hard to see McCree without wearing his beloved hat. His brown hair was a bit on the messy side, but it looked good on him.

"We're fine Hope, trust me," He assured. "This is Numbani weather we're sitting in. Almost any human being who lives here wears these when they're outside."

An omnic waitress passed by our table, handing us the drinks McCree had ordered for us upon our arrival. I had a Caramel Frappuccino while McCree ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte. He thanked the omnic as they walked away, heading back inside.

"We're the only ones up here now," He mumbled, taking a gulp of hid drink. "You're good to go."

I nodded quickly, bringing up my right arm from my side as I tapped the screen of my wrist communicator, bringing up the voice chat network. "How's it looking, everyone?"

"My drones haven't detected anything out of the ordinary," Athena replied.

"With so many civilians and the high security around here, it's a little hard for the drones to do their scouting without being seen," Winston added.

"That is where we come in," Genji jumped into the conversation, his voice soothing with confidence.

"Shimada Brothers, how are things on your end?" Winston asked.

I tapped the side of the screen. The voice chat filtered through the audio in the background while a digital map of all of the Agent locator beacons blinked, indicating their position. Hanzo and Genji were stationed on the rooftop of a building at the other side of the museum, across from Jesse and myself.  

"There has been no sign of any Talon agents in this sector," Hanzo spoke. "None of the people here seem to match the descriptions you have provided me with earlier."

Hanzo was referring to the normal dressing Talon goons, and then of course Reaper and Widowmaker. I didn't like it. It was too quite. But maybe that was a good thing? Or perhaps not. What if I cracked the code wrong? What if Talon's plan was indeed to break Doomfist out of prison instead of stealing his gauntlet? Wouldn't that make more sense? Those thoughts rattled around my head as I took a long sip of my drink to help calm my nerves.

"Let us hope that this is a false alarm, that way we can--"

Hanzo suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence. I could feel the atmosphere begin to tense more and more as the seconds ticked by.

"That way we can, _what_?" McCree repeated.

"Hanzo, what's wrong?" Winston questioned with concern.

That's when I heard it. We all heard it. I loud 'BANG' echoed in the air. Everyone froze for a split second, and then there was panic.

"Sniper on the roof!" Hanzo yelped, followed the sound of a "WHOOSH". He must have fired one of his arrows at the assailant.

A sniper?

Tracer gasped. "It's Widowmaker, hang on loves! Tracer's coming for ya!"

As McCree and I looked over the balcony, watching the civilians in the area scurry down the street, I looked over at the screen of my communicator. Tracer's locator blip was moving at an intense speed, closing in on the Shimada brothers. Winston was following closely, or as closely as he could anyways, behind her. Either running to go after her, or assist her in dealing with Widowmaker.

"What do we do?" I spoke up frantically, looking up at McCree.

"Let's help security evacuate as many people as we can, and get them out of that museum." he answered.

I nodded with confirmation as the two of us made our way out of the café and into the streets. We ran for the doors of the museum, carefully pushing people away from the museum along the way. I checked the screen again. Tracer, Winston, and the Shimada brothers blips have moved to the roof of the museum!

"Hold up," Jesse grabbed my shoulder with his robotic hand, stopping me. "Security is too tight here. Looks like they won't let us in."

"But what about the people that are still inside?" I realized.

"They must not know that there are people inside of there still," McCree's voice trailed off, running his flesh fingers through his hair stressfully.

"What now?" I asked.

The cowboy looked around before something caught his eye. He moved his hand to behind my back, gently pushing me forward as he trailed beside me. "Come on," We both ran to the far end of the museum's front, and that's when I saw it. One of the side windows was left open! "I'm not small enough to sneak in, but you can. Get in there, gather as many people that are still inside as you can, and get them to the entrance. I'll catch the guards attention, and they'll let you out."

"Got it," I nodded firmly.

"I know Winston doesn't exactly want you out in a fight, so if you see any trouble, call me, find a place to lay low, and I'll come find you. Understand?" He ordered.

"I understand," I replied. "Give me a boost?"

McCree bent down behind me, wrapping his arms around my legs as he lifted me up into the air. I pushed the window opened either further before pulling my upper body through the opening, and then my body flipped over into the building. My back side ached, but I shook it off as I stood up to my feet, and bolted down the hall.

I looked at all the signs I could see, searching for the quickest route to the Overwatch exhibit. Since it was private event today, nobody else was anywhere in the museum except for that specific room. After running for what seemed like forever, I finally found it. The room was ginormous! The entire room was painted white with long, rectangular, diagonal pillars and a skylight roof.

I frantically searched the room after the room shook for a moment. An explosion. Not good. Not good at all. I found two boys. A 14 year old and a 10 year old. Both of them had bright orange hair and blue eyes. Judging by their similar facial features, they looked like siblings.

"Hey!" I called. My voice caught their attention as I ran towards them. "There's a shooting going on, you two need to leave, right now!"

Before the three of us could move anywhere, a shadow casted over us. The little boy gasped as we looked up to see a familiar gorilla crash through the glass roof, free falling towards the floor. Acting on impulse, I shielded from any pieces of glass that would try and come their way. As I did so, I looked up towards Winston's body as he made a crater into the tile floor from his fall to see another figure with him.

The blue skinned woman launched a grappling hook from his wrist as I caught on to one of the pillars and she flew across the room, landing gracefully onto it as she whipped out a sniper rifle and aimed it in our direction.

Widowmaker. 

She scratched the gorilla's armour, making him snarl with anger. He noticed us and quickly jumped in front of us to protect us from the assassin's shots.

"Heh, enjoying the exhibit?" He chuckled nervously, adjusting his glasses.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"They're outside. Genji and Hanzo are dealing with the Talon Agents Widow brought with her," he answered. 

The next shot Widowmaker fired was a little too close for comfort as it just nicked Winston's helmet. He extended his giant hand, gently pushing as away.

"Alright, playtime is over," he spoke. "Get to cover."

The little boy smiled with astonishment as his older brother grabbed him by the cast of his arm, dragging him along. "Come on, move it!"

"This way," I directed, guiding them away from the fire fight. The three of us took cover behind one of the exhibit tables. I caught the sounds of familiar gun fire as I poked my head out for a split second to see a familiar sight gunning for the gorilla. "Aw, not him again!"

Reaper was back.

But he wasn't the only one.

A familiar blue blur caught my attention as I watched Widowmaker grapple down to the floor, Tracer soaring through the air as she trailed her, firing her duel pistols at the Talon sniper. Now it was a 2 vs 2 all out brawl. When Winston soared up into the air to try and smash the two opponents, the boys and I ran to find a better place to hide.

When we ducked down, I looked over to the side, scanning the battlefield. That's when I found it. Just off to the side was a giant metal glove floating inside a glass case. Doomfist's gauntlet.

"Jesse, I've got eyes on the gauntlet," I rose my communicator to my lips. "Winston and Tracer are in the exhibit with me, but they're in a mix with Widowmaker and Reaper."

"He's there too?!" He exclaimed.

"Yes!" I yelped with confirmation. "Can you get in here for some backup?"

"Negatory," He replied with a hint of grim to his voice. "Security is even more tighter than it was. I'm rendezvousing with Hanzo and Genji to find another way in."

"Roger that," I replied. "Maybe then---"

Before I could even finish my sentence, a string of gunshots rang in my ear as I ducked my head down. I looked in the reflection of a nearby mirror to see a cloud of black smoke surrounding Reaper as he spun around in a circle, flailing his guns around as he fired random shots at every corner of the room.

"Keep your heads down!" I shouted at the two boys.

Before I knew it, Tracer jumped over and joined us in our little hiding spot. She took a breather before looking over at us, seeming surprised. "Ah," Unsure of what exactly to say, she looked over at the two boys, speaking, "Don't worry loves. Calvary's here."

Ah, there it was. Her famous catchphrase. 

The younger sibling gasped again, his eyes brightening. Looks like Tracer has a little fanboy. There was a growl, followed by a loud 'THUD' as the four of us peeked over to see Winston collapse to his side, his glasses dropping to the floor.

"Come on big guy, get up," Lena encouraged with a whisper.

There was another sound coming from the other end. A gun shot, followed by shattering glass. I looked over to see the glass case protecting Doomfist's gauntlet destroyed, Widowmaker strutting towards it.

"Oh no!" The young brother whined.

There just had to be something I could do to stall the villains from getting their hands on the gauntlet. "Stay here," I ordered the boys as I suddenly ran out of hiding, going straight for the gauntlet. Widowmaker spotted me as she raised her gun, shooting automatically in my direction. I just managed to take cover behind a pillar, my back slamming against the it. I frantically patted myself down for any signs of bullet holes or blood. I sighed with relief when I saw nothing. The good news was I was now closer to the gauntlet. The bad news was, Widowmaker was even closer.

Winston suddenly roared as he triggered his Primal Rage, stalking straight for Reaper. The sudden action stopped the sniper from reaching over to grab the objective as she activated her googles, the device covering her eyes as she looked over in the direction of the battle, Tracer joining in on the fight once more. Just as I tore my gaze away from the fire fight, and was about to go and snatch the gauntlet, someone else already beat me to it!

The older sibling was hiding on the opposite end of the display, the gauntlet clutched tightly in his arms as he ducked his head down just as Widowmaker turned around to see her objective was missing.

"Dang," I muttered quietly. "That kids got guts."

As Widowmaker stalked closer and closer to the other end of the display, the younger sibling peeked out of hiding, yelling, "Watch out!"

"Crap!" I cursed, running for the kid as the sniper locked eyes with him, aiming her weapon at the boys head.

Just as I leaped forward to catch the boy, something happened that I didn't expect. His older brother slipped the gauntlet onto his fist and punched Widowmaker square in the face! The move caused a reaction with the gauntlet, as a giant red field exploded around us, pushing us all back a few feet. The explosion shattered all of the glass in the room, as a quick whirlwind breezed by us. 

The younger sibling and I sat up to examine the carnage. Widowmaker had soared right through two glass screens, barely pushing herself up from the floor. The gauntlet collapsed from the other boys arm, crumbling to pieces. Widowmaker glared at the boy as she picked up her weapon, but before she could take a shot, Tracer blinked to the rescue. She kicked the weapon out of the assassin's hands, using it against her. The blue skinned woman fired her grappling hook into the air as Reaper rendezvoused with her, reappearing from his trail of smoke. They both soared up into the air as Reaper dropped smoke grenades to cover their escape. But Winston wasn't having any of it. He ignited his jetpack and flew after them, flying through the newly opened roof and followed them outside.

"Well that was something," I commented.

Tracer and I watched the trio take their leave before turning around to meet the gazes of the two young boys. Catching our breath, the eldest brother extended the crumbled form of Doomfist's gauntlet towards us. Well, what was left of it anyway. Tracer gave him a smile, taking it in her hand.

"You know, the world could always use more heroes," she spoke. She saluted them before blinking over to the display case, putting the gauntlet back where it belonged. Lena then used her blink ability to climb up the one of the pillars, racing after Winston.

When she was gone, the boys looked over at me, and I looked at them in turn.

"Kid, you there? Mercy's bringing the shuttle around and the SWATs are on their way," McCree spoke through the communicator. "We gotta vamoose!"

"I'm with them, so, I should go get you guys out of here," I spoke, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

"Is Overwatch back?" the younger sibling asked.

I took a moment to process the question before smiling at the boy, waving my hand as I signalled them to follow me. "They never left."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang, this took forever! Hope everyone likes it!


	12. Reinhardt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Overwatch gang decide to lay low until the United Nations get in touch with them. But where? A certain Crusader knows just the place to hide. But Hope discovers that's not all that he is safe guarding.

The others and I escaped the Numbani museum in less than a minute. I escorted the two boys to the front entrance of the building where paramedics and security were stationed. McCree was there with us as well, pointing out the direction where a few stray Talon agents took off to the police. When the two siblings asked what they should tell the police _what happened back inside_ , I simply told them to tell the truth. McCree went on to add, "If they don't want to hear it, that's on them.".

Honesty was always the best policy.

Once it was done, I managed to give the officers the slip, and made my way back inside the museum, taking the emergency stairs up to the roof where Tracer, Winston, Hanzo, and Genji were waiting for me. The shuttle was in stealth mode, so when the side door opened revealing the inside of the ship, it looked like the room was floating in mid air. It really freaked me out at first. Zenyatta waved us all inside before shutting the door, and Angela took us out of the city.

If the news speculated Overwatch's whereabouts before regarding Tracer's appearance in King's Row, then they're going to have one heck of a field day today once the word gets out. We could be in serious trouble, with the Petra's Act in affect and all. Sure we stopped Talon from stealing Doomfist's gauntlet, but it was still an "Overwatch activity", which was in fact illegal. The guys could get sent to prison. But what about me? Sure, I'm no official agent, but I'm Winston's assistant. I was an accomplish.  I **am** an accomplish.

But what happens when word **does** get out about this? What would Dave think? What would my parents think?!

They'd discover that I've been lying about what I've been doing for the last few days. I've been lying to them about my job, more so towards David. He had to pass it on to my parents. I lied to his face before I left for London!

To make matters even more tense, as we were leaving, Athena chimed in saying that the Sombra Protocol updated itself. **Updated**. It shouldn't be able to do that. It's not connected to the Talon servers anymore! The update came with a single binary code. It's translation was Spanish, of course. **"Vientos, nada mal. No obstante, me aburro. Intentemos algo nuevo en la misma dirección. Otra vez, sin embargo. Las cosas son un poco caliente en este momento."**

McCree translated it into English, speaking, "Damn, not bad. However, I'm getting bored. Let's try something new in the same direction. Another time though. Things are a little heated right now."

This must mean that Talon is really on to us now. They've realized Athena has discovered the Sombra Protocol in her systems, and that we're attempting to crack the codes. But will we be able to keep this up? It looked like, based off of Sombra's message, that Talon would be backing off for a short while. But how long exactly?

"Breathe, Hope, just breathe," I thought to myself. "Just try and stay calm."

No one really said anything for the first little while that we left the city. In all honest, nothing really needed to be sad. We did the right thing. Stopping Talon from getting their hands on Doomfist's gauntlet, and using it for evil purposes.

Winston had took over as pilot once Angela picked us up. He landed the ship out in the Savanah, just a few miles outside of the city. It was far enough that no one could see the ship, so we were all safe.  Mercy checked everyone over for injuries, at least anyone that was caught in the fight. No bruises or broken bones. More good news.

We've been hanging around here for the last hour or so. I wasn't sure how long exactly. My mind wasn't exactly focused on the time. Everyone was gathered around the main room. Winston and Angela stood by the command console, while Lena, Hanzo and I sat at the booth. Genji and Zenyatta sat across from us on the passenger seats, and McCree slouched beside us with the side door open, smoking a cigar to help calm his nerves after the mission.

"So once news about this gets out, what's going to happen to you guys?" I spoke up, breaking the silence like a knife through butter.

"The United Nations will be up our arses about it, that's for sure," McCree sighed.

"Jesse--!" Lena scowled with surprise.

"McCree has a point," Winston interrupted, all eyes on him. "Once this gets out to the UN, they'll want to know what we've been up to. We can't exactly stay quiet. They would have found out either way."

"So, what are they going to do?" I asked, sounding nervous.

"They'll want answers, obviously," Angela answered. "I can already see the amount of interviews that will be coming our way."

"More like interrogations if you ask me," McCree muttered, puffing smoke out of his mouth as he tossed the burnt out cigar outside. "You guys will have it easy, but me? With the bounty that's on my head, they won't exactly take kindly to me."

"Hmm, while we're on the subject of bounties, perhaps I should lay low," Hanzo suggested.

"But, brother," Genji sat up from his seat, sounding surprised. "You just got here. We've just been reunited ourselves."

"I know, Genji," Hanzo nodded, closing his eyes as he sighed before meeting the younger Shimada's gaze. "But you care deeply about this organization and its agents. What would the UN say if they discovered that run-a-way heir to the Criminal Shimada Clan was present in your ranks?"

"I was in a similar situation, brother," Genji responded, his voice trailing a bit at the end. He quickly shook it off, waving his hand off with great assurance. "You are no different. I can vouch for you."

"Archer and I can hang low for a little while until the heat dies down," McCree offered.

"I thought I told you not to call me that?" Hanzo reminded, raising a brow at the cowboy.

"It's growing on me," He shrugged.

"I'm sorry Jesse, but that's not an option," Winston sighed, adjusting his glasses. "We don't want to raise any  alarms with the UN. We already have enough on our plates as it is."

"I still have a friend in the UN who used to be our liaison back in the day," Angela spoke up, showing off her phone. "We should all find a place to lay low **together**."

"Only question is, where exactly?" Lena questioned.

"What about your old headquarters?" Zenyatta suggested.   

"Gibraltar? No, that won't work," Winston shook his head. "The base was completely wrecked from the explosion."

"What about the other bases then?" McCree asked. "The ones that haven't been blown up."

"Gone too," Winston sighed with frustration. "The government sold them to various organizations and companies to replace them."

"If the news networks are covering what happened in Numbani, it should be someplace where reporters won't be able to find us," Genji suggested. "At least for the time being."

"But where?" Lena repeated.

"I MIGHT KNOW A PLACE!" A voice suddenly exclaimed.

The new voice literally made me jump from my seat on the booth as I fell on my side and right into McCree's lap. It startled everyone really, but mostly myself. I looked up at the cowboy, blushing from embarrassment when the two of us met each others gaze.

"Sorry Jesse," I apologized, rubbing the back of my neck.

"It ain't your fault," he assured with a smile. "I got'cha."

He carefully helped me up to my feet as the rest of the gang gathered around the command console, recovering from the sudden interruption.

"Reinhardt? Is that you, love?" Lena asked, checking her ears.

"Da! My apologies if I startled you all," He replied. "Were you not expecting my call?"

Wait, Reinhardt? As in **the** Reinhardt The Crusader?! I've heard stories about him when I was a little kid. He is an absolutely tank! Armed with his giant hammer and his shield barrier, despite his age, nobody stands a chance against him!

"Um, not at the moment big guy," she shook her head. "We were in the middle of something and--"

"Wait, how did you get this number?" Winston questioned. "This is supposed to be a secure channel."

"I called him," Athena spoke up as Reinhardt's profile appeared on the holographic screen of the console.

Everyone signed with relief after hearing her voice. Athena was the one that did it. She must have called Reinhardt during our chat after escaping Numbani. 

"Athena, please give us a little warning next time you make a call," Winston groaned.

"Dully noted," Athena acknowledged.

"Sorry for the long wait in picking you up, Reinhardt," Lena spoke apologetically. "We've gotten a little side tracked."

"No need to apologise, Lena," He replied. "I couldn't help but over hear, but you, or should I say _we_ require a place to stay?"

"Just until the news about our Numanbi mission and the discussions with the United Nations die down," McCree explained. "I didn't want to say anything at first, but sooner or later, it's going to get a little too cramped in here if we bring in more agents."

"McCree is right. We won't be able to live inside this ship for much longer," Winston agreed. "There won't be any room left."

"What place did you have in mind, Reinhardt?" Genji questioned.

"Transmitting the coordinates to you now!"

The holographic globe came to life, hovering over the console. Faint yellow lines raced around the surface of the digital planet before rendezvousing to a particular spot, forming a blip, blinking repeatedly.

"Coordinates received," Athena spoke.

She zoomed in on the coordinates as a satellite image of the location came into few, extra scenery pictures appearing all around the globe. The images contained a vast forest, a small ghost town, and a giant castle.

"Location: Eichenwalde, Germany."

Eichenwalde? The name sort of rings a bell to me. Since it's in Germany, it must be some old town that I probably learned about in World History class back in high school. It's most likely buried deep in the back of my mind somewhere. The pictures help trigger my memory, even if it's just a little. The castle looks familiar though.

"Bridgette and I are taking our leave from Berlin now, and Torbjorn is on his way as well," Reinhardt added. "We'll meet you there."

"Roger that, Reinhardt," Winston acknowledged. "We'll see you soon."

Athena ended the call as Reinhardt's profile vanished from the holographic screen, the digital globe and images of the old town taking up the entire view. My communicator went off, indicating that Athena had added Reinhardt's ID to my contact list. I suppose I'll have to wait to meet Torbjorn in the flesh before adding his profile information.

First England, than the United States, followed by Japan, then Africa, and now Germany? Could I even go to Germany? Should I even go to Germany after everything that's happened in the last 12 hours?

Everyone else went off to do their own thing to get ready for the trip to Eichenwalde. I mentally blocked out the noises and objects around me. I stayed put where I was, pulling my phone out from my pant pocket as I tapped the screen to power it on. Still messages or voice mails from Dave or my parents. Haven't they even heard about what happened this morning? Well, I suppose with the time different between here and British Columbia, they all must be still asleep. It must be very early in the morning down there.

But perhaps I should text David? Leave him a message? He and my parents are going to eventually here about this, and they'll want to know whether or not if I'm alright. But I know my brother. He's smart. Sooner or later he's going to catch on about all of the places I've been to, and with each one that's been involved with a terrorist attack, I've been there to witness it. He's going to put to and to together some time and start asking questions. The hard questions.

I was staring at my phone for so long, I almost didn't realize it when I felt someone place a steady hand on my shoulder.

"Hope?"

I flinched slightly. Darting my head around, I gripped my phone tightly in my hand to stop myself from dropping it. Hanzo was there, staring at me. His eyes were filled with a hint of concern.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

After recovering from his approach, I nodded slowly, "Yeah," I lowered my phone from my chest. "I guess I just zooned out for a second, that's all."

Hanzo hummed with disapproval. "It must be from staying up all night last night."

I chuckled nervously. "Talon has been keeping me busy as of late, and it's only getting started."

"I am aware of the message they sent you this morning after the attack," He nodded.

"I just have a lot on my mind, Mr. Shimada," I shrugged.

The man gave me the smallest of smiles. Though it was tiny, I could still sense its friendly warmth. "Hanzo, is fine."

I shook my head frantically before nodding with confirmation. "Right, Hanzo."

"Perhaps you should get some much needed rest," He suggested. "Winston won't be using the Accelerator in order to avoid detection from UN's Security Squad. I advise that you take advantage of our new found free time."

"Maybe I will," I smiled back. "Thank you,"

Hanzo removed his hand from my shoulder as I began to take my leave.

"I know," he suddenly spoke.

I stopped in my tracks, slowly turning around to face him. "What?"

"You're worried about your family, and what they will think." He spoke.

I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. My voice cracked yet there was no sound. No words took form. I closed my eyes, shaking my head as I regained myself, looking up at the elder Shimada Brother. "H-H-How did you?"

"Your words seemed convincing, but your eyes spoke over wise," Hanzo proclaimed. "Lying doesn't seem to suit well with you, Hope."

 Again, I couldn't speak. I couldn't get any words out of my mouth. All I could really do was rub the back of my neck and give the archer a cheap smile in defeat.

******

The flight from West Africa to Germany lasted a good couple of hours. While Winston flew the ship to its destination, everyone took the time to pack up their personal belongings and get some much needed rest in order to rejuvenate our energy that we spent during the mission. I checked my phone once more before going to bed. Still no messages or missed calls from my brother or my parents.

_Lying doesn't seem to suit well with you, Hope._

"Eh, you've got that right," I muttered softly to myself.

If they do get in touch with me, and start asking questions, **specific** questions, I'll start talking. If they don't say anything and are just concerned about my well being, I'll hold it off for now. I want to tell them at the right moment. Perhaps telling them right after a failed Talon robbery is pushing it a little too much.

Once my head hit that pillow, I was out like a light. I wasn't sure how long I was out for exactly, but I know it wasn't long. There loud eruptions of the shuttle engine powering off was what rocked me from my slumber. Good thing too.

I ended up having a nightmare. A nightmare where my dead grandparents visited me and basically scowled me to no end for getting into so much trouble. _You need to get away from them! You could killed just like we did! You should be ashamed of yourself!_

But I can't run away from them. I've already been through so much with these guys and it's only been, what, 3, maybe 4 days? They're my friends. I just can't turn tail and run!

As these thoughts ran through my brain, I reluctantly checked my phone one more time for any more messages. Still nothing. The sun should be up by now back home. The Numbani mission could be on the morning news. I shoved those feelings aside. I have better things to worry about right now. If they want to get in touch with me, they will. Until then, I have other matters to deal with.

I folded the blanket, setting it back in the shelf before reassembling the bed into a chair. By the time I had done so and took a look around, everyone else was up and awake. Everyone accept Winston, Hanzo, Genji, and Zenyatta, were wearing casual attire instead of their usual... let's call them "Hero" attire. Still equipped with her Chrono Accelerator to her chest, Lena wore her brown jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, jeans and Adidas sneakers. McCree wore something similar to what he wore as a disguise back in Numbani. Only this time he wore a red and black plaid shirt, blue jeans with holes in the knees and brown kicks, and of course, Peacekeeper was strapped to his belt if the need to shot something arose. Angela wore a t-shirt with a sweater overtop, black leggings and matching boots.

Everyone was equipped with a bag, well except for Zenyatta. I guess he doesn't really need anything.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty," McCree waved.

"Hey Jesse," I waved back, walking over to the group. "Are we heading off now?"

"Yep!" Lena piped. "Got your stuff all ready for you," She smiled as she lightly tapped my backpack which was strapped to the handle of my suitcase.

"I could have gotten my stuff out by myself, you didn't have to do that," I shook my head. "But I appreciate the thought."

"You and Athena have been working so hard with the Sombra Protocol as of late, I figured you needed the extra rest." Lena explained.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Alright everyone, let's get a move on," Winston spoke up, opening the side door. "The ship is still cloaked so the UN Satellites won't be able to detect it. But even still, stay cautious as we meet up with Reinhardt and the others."

Everyone acknowledge the gorilla before heading out of the shuttle and into the Eichenwalde forest. There were trees as far as the eye could see. Birds were chirping, the wind blew a nice breeze through the air. It was breathtaking and quite refreshing. It kind of reminded me of home. It certainly was a nice change of pace from all of the cities we've been too lately.

The gang and I trekked up a small hidden trail that led to the main road that put us into the direction for the town of Eichenwalde. It wasn't too much of a walk, but it was tough, especially since we had to bring our stuff with us. Carrying a backpack on my back was simple enough, but dragging a suitcase behind me? On a dirt road? It was practically torture.

As we were walking however, I thought I saw something that caught my eye. It was like a piece of metal glimmering at the corner of my eye, shining in the sun. I turned my head to face it in the direction that I saw the flash. There was a quick rustle of a bush and then nothing.

"Hey, did anyone see that?"

"See what?" Genji spoke up, stopping beside me.

I took one last look, peering my eyes towards the bush yet it didn't move. Then a small yellow bird shot itself out from the bush, flying up towards one of the trees. I slowly shrugged in defeat, looking over at the cyborg. "I don't know. Nothing I guess."

We continued onward up the main trail and soon the dirt path turned into stone tiles and up a head we found a wooden sign with the town name carved into it. Reinhardt, Torbjorn, and the girl I imagine was Bridgette were standing underneath it. Just beyond was the town and beyond them behind a giant wooden gate and up a stone bridge was the castle.

We had arrived in Eichenwalde.

"A-HA! GOOD TO SEE YOU MY FRIENDS!" Reinhardt bellowed.

The German man looked to be in his late 60's, maybe earlier 70's, but for a man of his age he was looking quite well. But that was putting it lightly. I mean, do you **see** the muscles on that guy?! No wonder he was able to wear that armour and fight for so long! He had his white hair combed back and stunning blue eyes. Well, I should say **eye**. There was a scare over his left eye. Reinhardt wore a black tank top with grey sweat pants and black combat boots.

He jogged over, bear hugging the agents that were closest to him. Which in this case would be Angela and McCree.

"It is good to see you too, Reinhardt!" Angela laughed.

"And not me?" Torbjorn teased.

Torbjorn wore red armour with a metal eye patch over his left eye and wore a strange hook on his left hand. He had smashing blonde hair with an insane beard.

"You too, shorty," McCree snickered.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I missed your wise cracks, McCree," The dwarf chuckled.

"I'll be sure to make plenty more of them just for you then," The cowboy smirked.

Reinhardt set the pair down as everyone reunited with each other. Of course there were introductions for Hanzo and Zenyatta, of course Bridgette meeting everyone else on the team. Bridgette was actually Reinhardt's squire. She helps him prepare his armour and weapons for when he charges into battle.

Finally, all that was left was me, myself and I.

"Reinhardt, Torbjorn, Bridgette,  this is my new assistant, Hope Ivery," Winston introduced. "She's been helping us locate the other agents, and has recently taken the task of decoding Talon's Sombra Protocol."

"It's a real honour to meet you all," I smiled, shaking Torbjorn's good hand.

"Wait, wait, wait," Reinhardt waved his hands, stepping forward before cupping his chin. "Your last name is Ivery, you say?"

"Yes?" I raised a brow at the old man.

"You wouldn't have happened to be related to a Jeffery Ivery, would you?" He asked.

Jeffery Ivery? But he doesn't mean---!

"Was he a Pastor?" I asked him.

"Yes, that's it!" Reinhardt exclaimed.

My mouth gaped open, my mind literally exploding with this new realization. I snapped my fingers at the man, pointing at him. "He was my grandfather!"

"Hahaha! I knew it!" Reinhardt cheered before suddenly picking me up. "I knew you looked familiar to me!"

"You knew my grandfather?" I asked with a wide smile on my face.

"Of course! He was a family friend, both him and his wife, Bethany. God rest their souls, you are a spitting image of her!" He answered with glee.

"Really?" My smile grew even bigger as the gentle giant set me back down.

This was incredible! Reinhardt, **the** Reinhardt was a friend to  **my** family?!

"But, I would have remembered if my parents said something about you hanging around with my grandparents." I recalled.

"Ah! I was around when your father was just a itty toddler, but as he grew older I was around less and less," He explained. "But for good reason though! There was crusading to be done!"

That must have been sometime during Overwatch's prime. Long before my grandparents were killed in that attack anyway. Wait a minute... if Reinhardt says he was friends with them, maybe he could tell me his side of the story! It wasn't that I didn't believe the story my mother told me. It sounded alright to me when I was younger. But as the years went on, and I grew older and slightly more wiser, the story just started to sound pretty vogue to me, putting it lightly.

Almost like my mother was hiding something from me.

But before I could even speak up to ask the Crusader my question, Winston cough, stepping between us. "Pardon the irruption, but perhaps we should keep moving, and move ourselves into our new home?"

I caught the look on the gorilla's face. He seemed tense all of a sudden. It was almost like he wanted to stop this conversation purposely before it went any further but why?

"Of course, of course! We don't want to out here all night, Reinhardt," Torbjorn teased.

"My apologies comrades," Reinhardt apologized with a chuckle. "I get so caught up in these things sometimes, you know?"

Bridgette clapped her hands together, catching everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, follow me and I'll give you the grand tour!"

As the gang followed Bridgette towards the town, one lingering question stitched itself into my mind. _What else does Reinhardt know about my family?_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this update!


	13. Junkenstein

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and the gang settle in at Eichenwalde.

Bridgette's tour of the town was extraordinary. I now remember why I learned about this place back in my high school history class. What is that reason? It was home to the largest, most intense battlefield of the original Omnic Crisis. I literally found this out when I accidentally tripped on the body of a dead omnic robot. I'm not kidding. My foot hit connected with the neck of the drone, and down I went. It wasn't pretty.

"Ow," I winced.

"Are you alright, Hope?" Winston gasped, surprised by my sudden stumble.

"I'm fine," I groaned, slowly sitting up as I adjusted my backpack. "What did I trip on?" 

Winston helped me up to my feet, and that was when I got a god look at it. It was the body of a Bastion unit.  It was a faded red with black and brown camo along its sides, the single optic on the face was cracked. The Bastion's were weaponized by the God Programs, given the abilities to transform into turrets, and when charged with enough power, could turn into giant tanks. It was said they could whip out an entire squad with that much power. Fighting one of them sounded challenging enough, but when Reinhardt told the story of how the Crusaders joined forces with the German army to fight waves upon waves of those things, I was in complete shock  as to how they were able to defeat them.

Following Bridgette up the main road towards Eichenwalde castle, there were dead bastions almost around every corner. The buildings were completely abandoned, few were torn apart with holes in the windows and roofs, and bullet holes in the walls. I could make out a electronics store, a music shop, a couple houses here and there, and an old pub. Not to mention the occasional trees and vines in odd places. Since this town was abandoned after the Crisis, the forest has slowly began to take over the site. A giant battering ram stood to the side next to the first set of castle gates that led to the front courtyard.

The front courtyard of the castle felt more like ruins to me. The stone walls appeared ancient, the stone path molded with grass and weeds everywhere. An arched bridge that connects two lookout towers looked like it was about to collapse if it weren't for some wooden pillars keeping it steady. Straight a head of us was a small shaft used for storage, harbouring old furniture and paintings of the castle that was either seasonal or completely outdated.

Finally to our left was a bridge where on the left side, you'd get an incredible view of the forest and not too far off in the distance was the closest major city to the abandoned town. It kind of reminded me of Numbani.

Speaking of Numbani,  _"Don't look at your phone, Hope,"_ I mentally told myself, but of course, I didn't listen. As we made our way across the bridge, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check for any messages. Still nothing from Dave, or my parents. I sighed, the grasp on the device tightening. What if they realised I lied to them and they don't want to talk to me?

I suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring at me. I turned my head, locking eyes with Hanzo. The eldest Shimada gave me a look that said, "Really?" 

I mouthed the words, "I can't help it," in reply with a quick anxious shrug.

I slipped the phone back into my pocket as we neared the main castle gate. It was a giant, brown steel door with a small window opening at the top.

"Can we open it?" McCree question.

"It hasn't been used in years, I highly doubt it," Bridgette sighed. "I was hoping you could possibly look into it, Torbjorn."

"I could try tinkering with it sometime," The small man agreed. "See how this beauty works."

"Is there another way inside?" Genji questioned.

"Right over here my friends," Reinhardt directed "Through the side entrance."

We followed Reinhardt through the entry way, walking across a small room with only a single torch perched on the side as its light source. Stepping through, we made it into the main hall of the castle. The hall was huge! The floor had a black and white square tile pattern, with a large faded red carpet over top that sprawled down the hall, and followed the stairs to the left at the end. A giant black chandelier hang from the ceiling. To the right side of the hall was an extra set of stairs that led up to a balcony catwalk that directed travelers to the bedrooms of the castle.

Heading across the hall, and making our way down the steps, there were two side rooms on their side of us. The one to our left led up to small workout room/gymnasium, and to the right led down towards the living room space. After the stairs right to our left was a computer lab. On the desk were two small desktop screens and a keyboard, some paper notes, a digital clock, and a candle light. Up on the wall above were three TV screens and above them was a giant griffin flag. On either side of the desk were two more candle lights and a bookshelf.

"I call dibs!" I exclaimed, pointing at the set.

I was met with a few hardy chuckles and a playful nugg to the arm by McCree. "You better let us use one of those things every once in a while."

"Me especially," Winston added.

"Fine," I rolled my eyes teasingly.

Straight a head of the main stairway were two other sets of stair cases. The one across from the main hall led to another hallway lined with portraits of amazingly crafted paintings on one end, the other was lined with windows that displayed an amazing view of the forest. The one beside it to its left led to the castle kitchen.

"Last but certainly not least, the throne room," Bridgette declared.

The room was amazing! There were two balcony's up top on the sides. The red carpet ended with a giant circle in front of the throne with a golden star printed on it. Another black chandelier hanged above it on the ceiling. There was a small set of stairs that led up to the throne. It was a large wooden carved chair with golden engravements. Behind the throne were two entry ways in the back that led to the castle dining room.

As we neared the throne, something caught my attention. I slowed my pace, spotting an object sitting on the throne. It appeared to be a suit of armour. A giant hammer resting next to it.

"What's that?" I asked.

Reinhardt's cheery smile slowly faded as the twinkle in his eyes vanished. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot it was still here."

The armour was a beautiful shade of chocolate brown with golden rims along the chest plate, helmet, leg armour, and gloves. White fur was equipped around the neck line. The emblem along the belt and wrists of the armour were the face of a griffin, matching the one on the flag. The hammer had a matching colour scheme with the armour. A giant ball of spikes was attached at the end of it on one side of the top end, the other was a rocket jet to give it extra power on the swing.

"This armour belonged to Balderich von Adler, the leader of the Crusaders. He and many of his men were slain during the battle here in Eichenwalde, but because of their valiant efforts, the Germany army was able to push back the Bastion army, and defeated the Omnics," He explained. "His body is buried in the cemetery back in Strutgart, but it was decided to leave his armour here in his memory."

Jesse whistled with astonishment, admiring the armour. "That's a fine piece of work."

"Then perhaps while we clean this place up a bit, let's be respectful and let Balderich's armour stay in its place," Angela suggested. "Agreed?"

"May as well," Winston nodded. "It may be another while before the United Nations get in touch with us. This help keep us busy for a while."

"Besides, we're not sure how long we're going to be staying here. A couple of days, weeks even?" Lena speculated.

"Then let's get to work then," Bridgette smiled. "We'll assign everyone a room to put away their things and clean, then we'll work on the rest of the castle."

"Perhaps there may be some supplies or any items laying around in the village that we could use," Torbjorn suggested.

"Excellent notion, Torbjorn," Angela agreed. "Once we get most of the castle fixed up, we'll send a pair to take a look around."

"Alright then everyone, let's get moving!" Torbjorn barked. "There's work to be done!"

*******

It took me nearly all afternoon but I managed to pick and clean up my room. Dusted everything from the shelves to the floor, cleaned up all the cobwebs, washed and cleaned the bedsheets and pillows.

I imagine everyone had a similar look and design, but my room had dark wood flooring with a green carpet that matched the flag colour of the town, another banner hanging above the fireplace attached to lighter brown carved walls and pattern ceiling. I had a desk with my laptop and other belongs up against a large window that overlooked the village. My clothes were stashed in a walk in closet along with my suitcase, and just across from the door was my queen size bed with white bed sheets and emerald green covers and pillows. The bed had pillars attached to either side with matching green curtains pulled back. That way if I wanted to I could get some more privacy while I slept. It's a fancy concept, but I never really saw a use for them.

Once I was finished with my room, everyone else was already working on the rest of the castle. Reinhardt had already finished in the kitchen, quickly baking some bread as a snack for everyone that he and Bridgette picked up on their way over from Berlin. Tracer was racing along the floor of the main hall with a mop, cleaning the floor and scrubbing the carpet. Hanzo and Genji were helping Torbjorn bringing in some things from the supply shed near the castle entrance, and Zenyatta was fixing up the dinning room. I wasn't quite sure what McCree was up to. I haven't been able to spot him yet.

During my cleaning duty's Angela's friend in the United Nations got back to her. The higher ups scheduled their first meeting with her and Winston, so they were taking care of that right now. If that was going on, then that must mean the attack in Numbani must have finally made it to the news channels. Which could only mean one thing.

I pulled my phone out from my pocket once I was finally done cleaning. Still no messages fron anyone of my family members. The waiting was really starting to irritate me now. I'm tired of waiting around. If they weren't going to call me, I was going to call them. More specifically, Dave. I wasn't quite ready to face my parents about this. Not yet anyways.

With shaking fingers, I dialed my brothers cell phone number and tapped the green button. Bringing the phone to my ear, I nervously waited for the sound of my brothers voice. The phone ringing echoed in my ear as I sat on the edge of my new bed. Finally there was a light " **CLICK** " followed by a gruff sounding voice. It sounded like the poor sibling had just woken up.

"Hello...?"

"Dave? It's me, Hope," I spoke, trying to sound as calm as I could manage.

"Hope? Uh," he coughed, his voice sounding strange. "How's it going?"

"Fine..." I paused for a brief moment. "Are you alright? You sound different?"

"Oh, the band and I had a gig last night. We stuck around for some drinks after the show." He explained after a slight hiccup.

"Had a little too much to drink?" I predicted.

"I may have had one Canadian Molson too many," he chuckled, followed by a harsh groan. "What's up?"

"Have you seen the news yet? There was a Talon terrorist attack in Numbani, at their Heritage Museum." I began.

"Oh good god!" He perked up, the life in his voice slowly starting to return. "Was anyone hurt? Killed?"

"Thankfully no," I shook my head, sighing with relief. "But there's more to it than that. Dave... I was there."

I could literally hear Dave's breathe freezing up. I could picture his body flinching, his eyes widening. "What?!"

"I'm okay though, really!" I quickly assured the man, sitting up.

"Was it your next stop on your business trip or something?" He asked, his voice sounding terrified.

"Yes!-- Well, kind of," My voice trailed off.

"Seriously Hope, what is going on?" Dave questioned sternly. "This is the second time something like this has happened. Everytime there's been some sort of Talon attack, you've been in that same location. It can't be a coincidence, what kind of business are you working for?"

"Okay, okay, try and stay calm," I waved my free hand nervously, pacing around in my room. "I can explain everything."

I was right. He's started to put two and two together. It sounded like he wasn't quite too happy about it either. Maybe I shouldn't tell him. But I've already gone this far, and I hate lying to him. Hanzo even said it himself. Lying isn't a good look on me.

"Tell me right now; Who are you working for?" Dave asked me.

I fidgeted with my fingers nervously, cracking my knuckles as I took a deep breath. "I'm working for Overwatch."

Silence. Followed by more silence.

I tensed. "D-Dave?"

"You've got to be joking..." He moaned. I could picture him rolling his eyes. There was a light "THUMP" in the background on his end. He probably either collapsed on the couch or fell back on his bed. One of the two.

"It's the truth!" I stated.

"How can you be doing that? Overwatch got shut down, and last I checked, their activity is illegal," he replied.

"Illegal? Yes," I confirmed. "Shut down? Not anymore."

"What do you mean? They're back?!" Dave asked, sounding surprised.

"Winston hired me as his assistant. You know that old workshop that was down at the beach that went out of business a couple years ago? I found him there a few weeks ago. Talon was looking for him and they wanted to steal the Overwatch Database from him so they could hunt down and kill the other agents. So he recalled the organization, and I've been helping him find them." I explained.

"So, let me see if I got this," he spoke slowly. "All those places you've been to; London, Hanamura, and Numbani; Those have all been places you went to retrieve the agents?"

"So we could warn them that Talon is after them. We've been gathering them up so we'd be able to fight back against them, should they attack." I continued. "And... those aren't the only places I've been to..."

"Hope... where else did you go?" Dave asked.

I gulped nervously. "Route 66, and Nepal."

"Route 66?!" He shrieked. "That's one of the most dangerous places in North America, that's Deadlock Gang's turf!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I had to go there to recruit McCree!" I stated.

"Wait, you mean **Jesse** McCree?" Dave questioned.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Why didn't you tell me you met Jesse McCree?!" He exclaimed.

"I didn't just meet the guy, he saved me!" I clarified. "Tracer and I were on our way to meet up with him when the Deadlock gang were harassing some of the locals. I stood up for them and one of the gang members shot me, but then Jesse showed up and---"

"HE SHOT YOU?!" Dave screamed.

I face palmed myself. Hard. I probably shouldn't have said that.

"You're not actually fighting along with them are you? Guns blazing and all?" He asked.

"No, no, no! I'm not! That was just a one time thing!" I assured my brother.

It was probably best if I leave out what happened in Hanamura. I think getting beating up by ex members of the criminal Shimada clan and being rescued by the heir to the clan with giant spirit dragons would be a little too much for David to handle. There's that, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't believe me either.

"So who exactly have you found?" Dave questioned. "Other than McCree and Tracer."

"Mercy, Genji, Reinhardt and Torbjorn," I listed. "We've also had some brand new recruits down in as well."

"Man, that's insane," he whistled with astonishment. "Where are you now? Are you safe?"

"We're in Eichenwalde, Germany," I replied, taking a look outside the window. "Mercy is speaking with representatives of the United Nations right now about what happened in Numbani. I have no idea what's going to happen after the talks are done. All we can really do now is sit tight and wait."

Dave let out another exhausting sigh before speaking. "Well, at least you're safe. That's what matters to me."

"I'm sorry about lying to you, Dave," I apologized. "I didn't want to take any chances if Talon possibly found out about me and tried to use you against me."

"At least now I know what you've been up to." He replied.

There was a knock on my door. I turned as it opened slowly, Bridgette poking her head in. "Hope? Is now a bad time?"

I rose a finger to her, signalling her that I'd be a moment. She nodded in reply as she stepped into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her as I turned back to face the window.

"Hey, could you do me a favor?" I asked, speaking into the phone.

"What's up?" Dave spoke up.

"I know it's all over the news by now, but..." I spoke slowly. "Could you keep my involvement in this on the down low with our parents? Just until things die down."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "They've been questioning me about your job. They haven't been able to reach you so they've been coming to me about your whereabouts."

"Just tell them I've been traveling a lot on business," I replied, rubbing my forehead. "Tell you what; Once everything gets okay up here, I'll come back home for a visit to see you, mom, and dad to catch up on things. I'll tell them about Overwatch then."

"If that's what you want to do," Dave spoke for confirmation.

"You know how our parents are with the organization now a days," I sighed. "I'll lay it on them as gently as I can."

"Alright," Dave agreed. "I'll keep quiet for now."

"Thanks Dave. Listen, I've got to get going now. But I'll try and get in touch with you later," I explained, glancing over at Bridgette. "I love you."

"Love you too, sis. Keep in touch." Dave replied. "Oh, and Happy Halloween."

I rose a brow at the sudden celebratory farewell. Halloween? Was that today? I checked the date on the screen of my laptop at the bottom right corner. **10-31**. Has everything actually happened just within a week?

The line went dead as I slipped the phone back into my pocket, walking towards Bridgette. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I was just taking care of something."

"It's quite alright," she assured. "It seemed you were busy."

"What's up?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

"The castle is done for the most part so we're gonna hold off to cleaning up the village until tomorrow," Bridgette began. "But Reinhardt has called everyone down to the throne room. He's got something he wants to share."

"Sure," I shrugged.

I followed Bridgette out of my room as the two of us made our way down the hall and stairwell that led to the main hall. The place looked completely brand new in my eyes. Almost like it was completely renovated. When we got to the throne room, everyone was present and accounted for.

Angela came down from a separate stairway before joining the two of us as we made our way to the throne room. She appeared tired. "Are you alright, Angela?" I asked with concern.

"Oh I'm alright, Hope," she assured with a yawn. "I just finished the call with some of the UN reps."

"Did it go well?" I questioned, sounding hopeful.

She couldn't help but chuckle as a weak smile formed on her lips as she met my gaze. "We may not know for a short while, but here's hoping."

I tried to hold back a chuckle as Bridgette playfully nudged my arm, the doctor teasingly shrugging in my direction. Once we neared, I watched as McCree set down a large chest.

"Here you are Reinhardt," He grunted, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Why'd you want me to bring this up?"

"With all that's happened today, I thought some holiday spirit would help take your minds off things for a short while." Reinhardt smiled as he began to unlock the chest.

"Holiday spirit?" Hanzo perked up.

"Today is Halloween," I clarified. "Yeah, I completely forgot about it too, considering all that's happened."

"I've kept this with me for all this time, but now I figured it was a good time to finally give these some life again," Reinhardt chuckled. The man opened up the lid as everyone peeked in to see---

"Oh my goodness!" Angela shrieked  with delight. "Our old Halloween costumes!"

"Oh, I remember those! I have a picture of you and Torbjorn all dressed up in my lab." Winston recalled.

Mercy was the first to dive in, pulling out a witch costume. Laughing and smile, the original Overwatch gang took a look inside to find their other costumes. Torbjorn had a Viking costume, Reinhardt had an Admiral costume, Lena had a punk rock costume, and it looked like McCree had a Van Hellsing get up!

"Dang, I haven't worn this in years," He chuckled, switching his cowboy hat for the black huntsman hat. "This thing probably might not fit me anymore."

"No harm in giving it a try, McCree," Torbjorn bellowed.

"Do you have a Halloween costume, Genji?" I asked, looking over at the younger Shimada.

"My Halloween costume?" He perked up. "Cyborg ninja!"

I couldn't help but giggle a little at his response.

Reinhardt clapped his hands together, catching everyone's attention. "The food is almost ready. How about everyone with costumes get changed, then meet the rest of us in the dining room so we can tell stories like the good old days, da?"

"I think that's a splendid idea," Zenyatta encouraged. "A wonderful reward for all of our hard work."

It was decided then. The few who had Halloween costumes left to go get changed while myself and the rest of the group stopped by the kitchen to pick up the food and drinks to be delivered to the dinning room.

Our little party was quite amusing at best. We shared a few laughs as we gathered around the table, exchanging stories as we ate and drank. McCree told a pretty exciting one about a cowboy hunting a werewolf. To end the night off, Reinhardt told his famous Halloween ghost story.

A little tale called Junkenstein's Revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry this took so long. Again. ^^" If you have any questions, hit me up on Tumblr @maddieautobot273


	14. Torbjorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope gets to know Overwatch's engineer, the dwarf himself! He has a special surprise in stored, but does it go well for our heroes in the end?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOSH THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG! I am so sorry for the long wait my friends. If you enjoyed this chapter, or the story in general, please feel free to leave a kudos or a comment down below and give me some feedback! If you have any questions regarding the stories or characters, you can hit me up on my Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/maddieautobot273

That was one heck of a Halloween story. Reinhardt sure had a talent for this sort of thing. If the day does come where he decides to hang up the hammer, he'd make one heck of a writer. In fact I think that story got to me so much that I ended up having a nightmare about it and woke up sweating in the middle of the night. Not exactly how I planned to spend my first night in Eichenwalde.

I got out of bed, stretching my arms before making my way out of the room and down the hall. I figured a drink was that I needed to try and help me get some shut eye again. Especially considering we'd be doing some more chores tomorrow. I walked down the stairwell, and as I walked down the main hall towards the side entrance to the kitchen, I could see Winston and Angela at the computer station. All three screens were powered on. The ones to the sides displayed statistics and data, while the screen in the middle showed a man on screen, wearing a suit.

Before heading off to bed I overheard Angela say something about getting ready for another meeting with representatives of the United Nations. More talks about what happened back in Numbani, and possibly what else has been going on before that. Poor Angela. She had it worse than Winston. He's only started talking to these guys. But the doctor? She's been in meetings with them all day, and now it appears almost all night as well. Bags were forming under her eyes, and the poor woman looked like she would collapse at any minute.

I popped into the kitchen, brewing a quick cup of coffee before getting some water for myself. With the two drinks in hand, I quietly made my way out of the room and towards the computer station. Staying to the side as I tried to not interrupt their conversation, I placed the coffee cup at the edge of the table. Thankfully it was Winston's turn to talk as Angela noticed the gesture, giving me a thankful smile in reply as she took the cup in her hands. I smiled back, waving at the blonde haired woman.

I took a gulp of my drink as I began to take my leave, but something caught the corner of my eye. A small spark of light illuminated in the corner, glowing through the arch of a hidden room just beyond the throne. I turned my head back to look at Angela and Winston. It appeared that the two of them were too busy with their meeting with the United Nation Reps to even tear their faces away from the screen. With my curiosity getting the better of me rather than going to back to bed and getting more sleep before working again tomorrow, I followed the light, walking past the throne and under the arch as I entered the room.

The room was a bit small, but it was big enough for a fair group of people to fit inside. At the end was a door that led to the back end of the castle, cracked open ever so slightly to let some air in. To the side of the room was a small table, littered with schematics and tools. Sitting at that table was a small man with a large blonde beard. His red armour hanged from the wall behind him as he wore a light brown shirt with black cargo pants and matching boots.

"Torbjorn?" I spoke up, raising a brow.

The dwarf sized man jumped in his stool, turning around quickly with his claw like implant aimed in my direction. But once he saw me, his muscles relaxed as the man sighed with relief. "Oh, Miss Ivery! You startled me."

"Sorry about that," I apologized, stepping into the room. "What are you doing in here? Are you still working on repairs for the castle?"

"Something along those lines, yes," he nodded as I neared, returning to his work. "What about yourself?"

"Want me to be complete honest?" I questioned, leaning against the wall.

"What happened?" He asked, looking puzzled.

"I think Reinhardt's ghost story got to me way more than I imagined." I answered.

"Had a bad dream did ya?" He guessed.

"Yep," I sighed. "I don't do ghost stories that well, or horror in general,"

"Oh Reinhardt's stories aren't that scary. Every year before Overwatch was shutdown, he'd try to spice things up, adding new twists to the story," Torbjorn rambled. "One year he added in zomnics!"

"Wait, zomnics?" I repeated, sounding dumbfounded.

"As in zombie omnics? Yes, that's what it is." Torbjorn clarified.

"Wow, talk about a desperate reboot," I muttered, taking a sip of my drink as I pushed up from the wall.

I took a step forward next to the dwarf, taking a look around the table. Schematics and tools were scattered everywhere, along with a lantern to light up the room and placed neatly next to it was a photo of Torbjorn, and I would imagine was his wife and children. "Is this your family?"

"Ah, yes," Torbjorn looked over, smiling at the photo. "They're my pride and joy." He set down his hammer, gently picking up the photo so I could get a better look. The woman in the photo had pale skin with long, wavy rich blonde hair braided in two long pig tails and crystal blue eyes and wore a matching blue sun dress. "That there is my wife, Alice," then he trailed his finger along the photo, pointing out all 8 of his children. "And then there's the children, Julia, our eldest, then there's Molly, our two boys, Lucas and William, our twin girls, Elsa and Ebba, finally there's Ellen and our youngest, Junior."

"Junior?" I repeated. "Not Torbjorn Jr.?"

The man let out a hearty chuckle as he set the photo back down on the table. "No, no, not that. Funny enough, I did suggest it to Alice when we first discovered she was carrying him,"

"I take it she didn't agree?" I guessed, trying to hold back a snicker.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Didn't agree to it at all. Her exact words were, Torb dear, I love you with all of my being, but we are not naming our youngest born son Torbjorn Jr."

"Well you tried," I shrugged teasingly in reply. Tearing my gaze away from the photo, I glanced over at the tools, and the object the dwarf was working. "What are you working on?"

"It's something for outside. I was hoping to save it for tomorrow, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion right now," Torbjorn began, picking up the unknown object he built as he stood up from his stool.

"Second opinion about what?" I repeated, seeming confused.

"I'll show you," Torbjorn elaborated. "It's right outside."

Looking between him and my drink, I gulped down the rest of my water before setting it down on the table. I joined Torbjorn at the back door as he handed me a pair of boots, the object he made, and a blanket. I tried to make out what it was, but I just couldn't quite put my finger on it. It appeared to be made of leather.

"You're going to need these. It gets a tad chilly out here at this time of night." He advised.

Slipping the boots on and wrapping the blanket around my shoulders, I followed Torbjorn outside and came upon a narrow path. Cobblestone marked the path as tall trees were aligned on each side of it. With the lantern in his good hand, Torbjorn lit the way down the path through the nearly pitch black night. The stars shined brightly like diamonds up in the sky as they walked, the sound of crickets buzzing in their ears every so often. The walk didn't take too long, but since this was my first time coming this way, it felt never ending.

We finally came up to a clearing a few moments later. There appeared to be a small farm taking up nearly half of the clearing with a fence forming a large square just next to it with a feeder in the center, filled with hay in one half and water in the other. On the other end there were multiple pathways, much larger than the one we just took that trailed to different parts of the forest.

"Torbjorn? What is this place?" I asked.

We came upon the large wooden doors of the barn. The dwarf unlocked the door, pulling it open with a heave as he stepped to the side, allowing me to enter first. When I stepped inside, my nose got a whiff of a strange odour. It smelled like an animal was living in here.

That's when I heard it.

A quiet "NAH" caught my ear as I whipped to the side, yelping with surprise. Torbjorn took a step forward, shining the light of the lantern towards the source of the noise.

"No way..." a smile slowly formed on my lips.

It was a horse. It had a beautiful brown shade colour with a silky black main and tail. This wasn't a barn. This was a stable.

"Spirit, what are you doing up so late?" The dwarf cooed as he increased the brightness of the lantern before hanging it up on a hook attached to the ceiling, lighting up the inside of the stable. Spirit snorted in reply, shaking his head as Torbjorn chuckled. "You're not hungry again, are you?"

He reached into a sack, pulling out an apple as he extended it towards the horse, letting Spirit munch on it.

"There you go, have a midnight snack." Torbjorn smiled.

I took a few quiet steps forward, my gaze never turning away from the graceful creature. "He's beautiful. Has he been in here this whole time?"

"It's not just him," He spoke up, pointing his finger out further into the stable. I followed the trail of his finger, spotting a white coated horse and it's kin pony stationed in their own part in the stable. "That there is Willow and her little one, Echo."

"Where did they come from?" I asked, watching the pair interact with each other.

"I found the three of them while I was doing some exploring and picking up some more wood to repair some of the railings inside the castle, and I stumbled upon them. Willow was injured, and the two refused to leave her side. I brought them back here where they would be safe," Torbjorn explained as he casually walked over to the mother and baby, feeding them some sugar cubes. "I imagined that they would leave once Willow was healed, but it appears that they want to stay."

"Maybe they were grateful for you giving them a home, and decided to stay," I predicted.

"I enjoy the company," Torbjorn nodded in agreement. "Hand me that will you?"

I glanced down at my hands, realizing that I was still holding the strange leather object Torbjorn had built back inside the castle. I handed it to him as he unlocked the gate to Willow and Echo's pen. He cautiously made his way over to the pony, gently petting it.

"Hey there Echo," He greeted. "I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry."

The pony closed its eyes, accepting the man's warm touch upon its forehead. When he realized he was accepted, Torbjorn lifted his leather invention and place it upon the back of the pony, and it was only then did I discover what he had built. It was a saddle!

"So that's what you've made," I face palmed, playfully scowling myself for not figuring that out sooner.

"I've built two more for Spirit and Willow," He added. "I thought it would be a nice surprise for McCree."

I gasped, imagining the cowboys reaction if he'd seen the horses. "I think he'd love to see them!"

Torbjorn laughed in agreement as he set Echo's saddle aside, shutting the pen gate. "That will have to wait until tomorrow when we're finished with the village. I still have to fix a few things, but the place should be ready by tomorrow afternoon."

"So we'll until then to show him?" I asked for clarification.

He nodded. "Right, so don't spoil it, alright?"

I imitated zipping up my lips, smirking. "My lips are sealed."

"Thank you, Hope," Torbjorn smiled before stretching his arms out with a yawn. "It's late. Why don't we both head back inside?"

"Agreed." I replied, also surpassing a quick yawn.

After double checking on the horses, the two of us locked the stable and made our way back up the trail and inside Eichenwalde Castle. I thanked Torbjorn for showing me the stable, and again promised to not say a word about it to Jesse before heading back up to my room. Angela and Winston were still chatting away with the United Nations Representatives at the computer console, the doctor's coffee mug looking almost empty. How long exactly had she and Torbjorn been outside for?

I walked back up the stairs, down the hall, entered my bedroom and just full out collapsed onto the bed. As much as I enjoyed my late night adventure with the dwarf, I was incredibly tired. Besides, if I got to sleep now, the quicker daylight would come. Especially more so so that I could see the look on Jesse McCree's face when he sees his surprise.

********

I woke up late the next morning, at about 10:30am. Quickly changing into my jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket, boots, and slipping on the communicator to my wrist, I darted out of my bedroom and quickly made my way down the hall, eager to get the day going.

I joined everyone in the dinning room for breakfast as Reinhardt and Bridgette prepared waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. As Reinhardt said, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! So eat up!"

Once breakfast was done, I helped Winston perform some upgrades and tweaks to the computers at the station in the throne room. As we worked, I asked him about how the UN talks went last night. He gave me a tired sigh in reply before speaking, "Long, but with the cases we've made, let's pray that it will all be worth it."

"I'm sure they will be, Winston," I encouraged with a smile.

That took about an hour. Once that was over, McCree and I partnered up to explore the village and scavenge for any spare parts, goods, supplies, anything that still appeared to be in working condition. There wasn't much left to salvage from the destroyed homes of the town. Besides, it didn't exactly feel right to take any personal belongings. The two of us decided to move on to the plaza, with the computer store being closest to our location.

We managed to find a few monitors that were spared, so I decided to back those up thinking everyone could use their own personal computer in their rooms, instead of all communication being restricted to the station. Then we moved on to the music store, finding two manageable radios and Jesse picked himself a guitar at was stashed in the back of the store.

He whistled with surprise, admiring the craftsmanship of the instrument. "This here's a mighty find. I'm keeping this one," He grinned, finding a strap as he pulled the six string up on his back.

"You play?" I asked him.

"I dabble here and there," He shrugged in reply, sporting his signature cowboy hat, a brown shirt with his chest plate over top, black pants and watching brown cowboy boots. "My old commander taught me."

"You were in Blackwatch right? So that would be Reyes." I recalled.

"Bingo," McCree huffed, blowing out one last puff of his cigar before tossing it aside. "Gaberial Reyes, the king himself."

"What was he like?" I questioned as the two of us left the store, making our way down the street towards the abandoned bar.

"To put it simply? Reyes was strict according to most people that knew him. Strict, but fair. With him giving me a place in Blackwatch and all, I guess you could say he was a kind of father figure to me." Jesse began.

"So you looked up to him?" I replied.

"Big time," He nodded, pulling the front door open for me as we both entered the establishment. "We always had each others backs. No matter how tough a mission looked, Reyes always found a way to get us all home. May not be pretty half of the time, but it worked."

"I'm sorry about what happened to him, and Mr. Morrison for that matter," I spoke apologetically.

"Thank you, Hope," He replied. "To be honest, sometimes I wonder what today would be like if I hadn't left Overwatch before that. Maybe I could have done something to help. Maybe even save them."

My eyes widened with sympathy for the cowboy as I reached over, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Jesse..."

The man sighed as he rubbed his eyes before looking over at the girl. "Can we, uh, maybe not talk about this right now?"

I nodded with understanding, slowly moving my hand away from his shoulder. "Sure,"

"Hey," he suddenly spoke up, catching my hand with his robotic limb, squeezing it gently. "Thanks."

"For what?" I asked with confusion.

"For listening." He smirked.

I smiled back at the cowboy as he let go of my hand and proceeded to look around. I walked to the other end of the building, one of the tables catching my attention. I placed a hand on it and a holographic map appeared on the tables surface. It's sudden appearance startled me as I surveyed the map as it displayed Eichenwalde on one end, the forest in the middle, and then a near by metropolis on the other end. German names that were impossible for me to decipher popped up, and I didn't want to attempt and butcher Reinhardt's home language.

"Is this some sort of map of the original battle?" I muttered to myself.

I tapped my finger on the touch screen of my communicator, snapping a picture of the map. Perhaps Reinhardt could help shed some light about this when we return from our scavenger hunt.

"Hey! You think any of these old taps still work?" McCree spoke up, taking a look behind the bar at all the old bottles machines. "I'm having an all mighty thirst."

"Well, I may not have any beer on me," I replied, taking off my backpack and unzipping it as I reached inside, pulling out a water bottle. "But I have something that will work just as fine."

"That'll work." He laughed.

I tossed him the bottle before pulling out another one for myself. The two of us sat by the bar, making the occasional small talk. Just when we didn't find anything else of value and were about to leave the bar, my communicator went off. It was a message from Torbjorn.

"It's all set! Get down McCree down here!"

I smiled upon seeing the message as I lowered my wrist and looked over at the cowboy. "Hey Jesse?"

"Yeah kid?" McCree perked up, meeting my gaze.

"You're not busy this afternoon are you?" I asked.

********

The look on McCree's face when he saw the stable was everything I ever hoped it would be, and when he got sights of the horses? Even better.

"Well I'll be damned..." He spoke in awe.

I giggled at the cowboy's reaction, glancing over at the dwarf as he brought out Spirit into the clearing. The horse was all saddled up and ready for a ride. "I think he liked your surprise, Torbjorn."

"Oh I can see that alright," He chuckled in reply as he began to head back inside the stable. "Go on a head Jesse,"

McCree smiled, his eyes twinkling with excitement as he climbed up and sat himself down on the saddle. "Feels good to be back in the saddle again."

"Since you're here, I was hoping you could help me set up these markers to map out the trails," Torbjorn explained. He walked back out with Echo wearing his own little saddle and reins, and a sack filled with pole markers was tied to the side of the saddle. "I don't want you and the others getting lost out here in these woods."

"No problemeo," The cowboy acknowledged as Torbjorn tied another sack to Jesse's saddle. The cowboy turned his head towards me, "Hope, you coming with?"

I gaped with surprise at the question. Pointing to myself, I raised a brow at the man. "Me?"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "It'll be fun!"

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that. I've only ever ridden an actual horse once when I was a kid, I'd just slow you down," I replied, brushing my hair back with uncertainty.

"Aw no biggy, you can ride with me," Jesse offered.

"Really?" My eyes widened. 

"Yeah, hoop on," The cowboy smiled, extending his cybernetic limb towards me. Reaching out, I took his hand as he pulled me up on the saddle, sitting behind him. "Don't be afraid to wrap your arms around me again if you're scared about falling off." Jesse teased with a chuckle, glancing back at me.

I rubbed the back of my neck while a cheap smile formed on my lips. "Yeah, I guess we don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

Torbjorn couldn't help but laugh after hearing that as he saddled up on Echo. "Always the charmer aren't you, McCree? I thought you were saving that line for that archer fellow?"

Jesse's cheeks instantly blushed a bright red as I gasped at the man. "So you do like Hanzo?!"

The cowboy coughed, whipping the reins of his horse. "I thought we had a job to do? Let's get a move on!"

I rolled my eyes as the three of us began our trek through one of the trails.

The shined in the bright sky, birds and crickets chirping. The forest sure looked beautiful during this time of day. Every so often, Torbjorn would instruct McCree where to put a marker, and there exactly to make any turns or change of direction. This guy had it all figured out too! There were some pretty amazing views. At one point we even passed by a waterfall!

I'm not exactly sure how long we were out here for, but it felt like quite a while. McCree jabbed the last marker into the ground, making sure it was stuck in the dirt tight before Spirit backed up away from it. "That's the last one," he reported, looking over at Torbjorn. "Should we head back?"

Before Torbjorn could reply, a loud clap of thunder echoed across the sky. We all looked off over a cliff to see dark storm clouds heading our way. They didn't look exactly welcoming either.

"Strange, there was never a forecast of rain for today," Torbjorn spoke with confusion. "But, yes, we should be on our way."

We began make our way back down the trail towards the stable, however it seemed like the rain clouds were moving a lot quicker than we were. What was a light drizzle turned into an absolute downpour in seconds. I'm pretty sure I could speak for the three of us that we were soaked completely from head to too. Torbjorn was kind of hanging in there while wearing his armour, and Jesse had his chest plate and poncho over top that to keep his shirt dry, not to mention his hat. As for me? Not so much.

The thunder wasn't helping with our current situation either. Could thing the markers came with beacons to light up the trail, other wise I'm pretty sure the guys wouldn't be able to see where they were going through all this rain. The thunder roared through the trees, startling me as my grip on McCree's shoulders tightened.

"We should be almost there," McCree rose his voice. "You doing alright back there, Hope?"

"I'm surviving!" I yelled back.

Just as we were cruising by a steep hill, there was a sudden clash of lightning that came out of nowhere, scaring Spirit and Echo. They jumped up like you were performing a wheelie on a motorcycle, startled by the sudden flash of light. They were moving so quick, I couldn't react fast enough and ended up falling off Spirit and over the edge of the hill! I tumbled down the sloop, trying to dig my hands into the dirt to stop myself from falling. When I finally did come to a halt, it was only when my back hit a boulder sticking out from he hill. I hissed from the pain, my eyes locked shut. I'm just glad it wasn't a sharp one.

"Ivery?!"

"Hope, where'd you go?!"

I could hear Jesse and Torbjorn's voices as I slowly pushed myself up my knees, looking up at the top of the hill. I watched as they looked out over the edge, spotting me. "G-G-Guys?!" I yelped with a stutter. With my clothes soaked and now especially covered in dirt and mud, the cold the storm brought with it was really getting to me now.

"Stay right there, and don't move!" McCree yelled.

"McCree watch out!" Torbjorn exclaimed.

Before the two could get off their horses to come get me, a mud slide from the hill above them had given way as they just barely dodged it. I tried to make a break for it but as it came down, it shoved my legs as I was forcibly collapsed to the ground as the mud slide carried me down with it.

"GUYS, HELP!" I screamed.

The last time I heard their voices, I was sliding down the hill so fast I could barely make out what they were saying. When I made it to the bottom of the hill, I ended up hitting solid ground and my vision turned blurry. I tried pulling myself up from the ground but my arms didn't have hardly enough energy, as I face plated back into the mud again.

The last thing I remembered complete was hearing a strange whirling sound, followed by some footsteps. Was it my friends perhaps? They were a bit heavy though, even for Reinhardt or Winston. They couldn't have come here that quickly, could they?

I saw a metal hand reach out for me, and then everything went black, along with my body turning numb.

 


	15. Bastion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Overwatch team learn of Hope's disappearance, and set out to go look for her. Meanwhile, Hope makes an unsuspecting friend...

"So, what did they say?" Lena questioned anxiously.

Winston and Angela had called in the rest of the team for a quick meeting regarding their recent interviews with the Representatives of the United Nations. They've been talking non-stop for two days straight, so that was plenty of time to cover a lot of ground. Lena, Genji, Hanzo, Bridgette, Reinhardt, and Zenyatta gathered around the medic and gorilla in the Throne room, waiting to hear the news.

"Hang on, not everyone is here yet," Winston advised, taking a look around the room. "We're still missing Torbjorn, Jesse, and Hope."

"The last I saw them, Hope and Jesse were scavenging the village, and Torbjorn was working out back," Bridgette recalled.

"Let's hope they'll head back soon," Winston replied. The quiet roar of thunder could be heard coming from outside, causing everyone to look up at the ceiling. "That storm is sounding pretty rough."

"Aw I'm sure they'll be right along," Tracer assured the gorilla, waving it off. "You can let them know when they return! So what happened?!"

"After talking it over, the Reps have agreed on a temporary lift of the Petras Act." Angela answered.

Ms. Oxten cheered loudly while everyone else were not as ecstatic, none the less they were all happy.

"So it is temporary at the moment?" Genji repeated for confirmation, his voice sounding slightly uneasy.

Winston nodded, adjusting his glasses. "It's temporary for now. This gives us all time to 'test the waters', so to speak. The United Nations will watch us, judge on how we work together during our missions. If all goes well, and they approve of our methods, we could see the Petras Act being lifted permanently."

"And Overwatch can be recalled officially?" Reinhardt beamed, his eyes twinkling.

"Indeed," Winston smiled in reply.

The British agent cheered once more before the German nearly crushed her in a bear hug, Genji and Bridgette chuckling at their antics.

"Furthermore, The United Nations are allowing us this chance to bring in a brand new agent into our fold, in order to help test our teamwork and to help them in their decision making," Angela added before looking over at Tracer. "Lena, do you still have the contact information of your friend? The Brazilian Freedom Fighter?"

Lena gasped excitedly, fist pumping the air. "Yes! I knew you'd come around to him eventually,"

"How soon can you get in touch with him?" The medic asked.

"I'll call him right now!" Tracer beamed as she blinked out of the throne room and up the stairs.

Once she was gone, the muffled sounds of footsteps could be heard as the back entrance of the castle flew open, then slammed shut. Jesse McCree and Torbjorn emerged from his workshop, soaked to the bone as they trudged into the room, collapsing to their knees. Their surprising appearance startled the others as they rushed to their aid.

"Oh my goodness!" Angela squeaked, kneeling in front of the dwarf. "What happened to you two?"

"Storm outside--- caught us off guard," Torbjorn huffed, taking heavy breathes in order to talk. "Hope---"

"Hope? Where is she?" Winston perked up, searching frantically for her among the pair. "I thought she was with you, Jesse."

"She was, but--" The cowboy removed his hat from his head, pushing strands of his wet hair out of his face as his voice began to falter. "But--"

"But she what?" Winston repeated.

Before Winston could continue any further, Hanzo stood by him, raising his hand to silence the gorilla. He nodded his head, signalling Winston to stand down as the archer stepped towards the cowboy, kneeling in front of him as he helped remove his soaking wet serape off his shoulders. At least now there wasn't any unnecessary weight on them. "Breathe cowboy, tell us what happened."

"We were heading back, and the lightning scared the horses. Hope fell off my horse, and all that rain must have caused a mudslide," He spoke, foretelling what happened just minutes ago. "I tried to get down there to help her back up, but the mud was too quick... it took her with it down the hill."

Looks of fear and terror fell upon the rest of the agents as they exchanged worried glances with each other.

"Do not blame yourself," Hanzo urged. "This was not your fault. It could have easily been you."

"It might as well been," Jesse grumbled as the eldest Shimada helped the cowboy to his feet.

"We'll find her McCree," Winston assured him. "We have to. Athena!"

"Already searching for her signal," she spoke, the tracking system appearing on screen at the computer console.

"Ms. Ivery was wearing her communicator, correct?" Zenyatta recalled.

"If that's so, then Athena should be able to pinpoint her location," Genji realized.

"That's the idea, yes," Winston confirmed as he made his way over to the console, typing away at the keyboard. "Athena, are you picking up anything?"

"Scanning..." she spoke. The locator blip blinking red, scattering all over the area of her last known location. "Her signal is scrambled. The most likely scenario is that her communicator was damaged in the fall."

"Can you pinpoint her last known location?" Winston asked.

"Scanning..." Athena searched the quadrant until the locator beacon zeroed in on a specific spot not too far from the castle. "Here,"

"That's it," Jesse realized. "That's where we lost her, on the trail Torb and I marked earlier today..."

"That settles it then. I'm going to take a look around for her," Winston stated, his nostrils flaring.

But before he could even get a chance to leave, Reinhardt stopped him by grabbing him by the shoulder, catching his attention. "Winston, have you gone mad?!"

"You can't be serious, Reinhardt--" Winston attempted to protest, but Reinhardt raised a finger at the gorilla, silencing him.

"You said so yourself, the storm is rough out there. Extremely so. If you go out there, you'll get washed up by the storm just like Hope did, and then you won't be able to find her that way," The German stated. "First thing when the storm clears, that's when we'll go find her."

"We all will," Jesse added.

"You and Torbjorn won't be going anywhere until the two of you are warmed up and rested," Angela lectured. "Hanzo, help me get these two to my medical bay."

The archer nodded as he assisted the Doctor in escorting the two men across the room. As they did so, Tracer blinked back into the throne room. A bright smile pierced her lips. "Great news everyone! He says he'll be on the next flight to Berlin--" But her cheery voice wasn't enough to brighten their spirits. Not this time. "Hey, what happened?"

"Hope's in trouble," Winston answered with worry.

"What?!" The girl exclaimed with shock. "Then what are we doing standing around here for?"

"We can't do anything with this storm raining down," Reinhardt stated before turning his attention back towards the scientist. "Winston, my friend, I promise you that as soon as the storm clears, we'll search for her. We'll find her and bring her back here safely."

Winston titled his head to the floor, shutting his eyes with a heavy sigh as he processed Reinhardt's proposal. He and Hope had been developing quite the bond for the past few weeks now. He'd never let it down if something horrible happened to her. But Reinhardt did have a point...

"As soon as the storm clears?" Winston repeated for clarification.

Reinhardt nodded in reply, squeezing the gorilla's shoulder reassuringly. " **Ja**."

*******

The bright rays of the morning sun stirred me awake. I felt a rain drop drip on my nose, kicking my senses in as I shook my head. My hair was damp and cold, frankly my entire body was. Perhaps not as cold as I felt last night, but nonetheless, I still felt a chill all over me. Not only were my clothes damp but they were also dirty, covered in mud stains. I slowly opened my eyes to find that I was sitting on a pile of leaves and it appeared I was tucked away inside a... tree? The bark had somehow broken apart, creating an opening for inside.

"How did I even get here?" I thought to myself.

The last thing I remembered was a metal hand coming towards me, and then I blacked out. Was it Jesse? It couldn't have been his. The design was completely different. I should know; Jesse has a skull on the forearm of his cybernetic limb. This one didn't.

Did I imagine it? But how did I get over here? I recall being pushed down to the bottom of the hill by a mud slide...

Slowly sitting up from the leaf pile, my body ached all over. Certain spots stung more than others. That was most likely where the bruises were located. I crawled my way out from the tree, breathing out a hiss every so often. Once I was free, I stood up to my feet, stretching my limbs as my knees, elbows, and back cracked from being stiff for a certain amount of time.

The rays of sunlight temporarily blinded me until I was able to get my bearings. I was still in the forest, but where exactly? That was unknown. I raised my wrist, checking on my communicator. Perhaps I could send a signal out to let the others know I was alright? Poor Torbjorn and Jesse must be worried sick about me, the others as well. What about Winston?

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" I rose my voice, attempting to get the communication link working. There was nothing but static as the holoscreen shriveled out of existence, the device around me crackling. "Busted..." I grumbled.

I took a look around the small clearing I was in. Near me was a burnt out camp fire, a few twigs were burnt completely as tiny trails of smoke filtered up through the air. Whoever or whatever found me must have built this fire to help me stay warm over night. Just as I was kneeling down to examine the fire pit more closely, snapping twigs caught my attention. I flinched back up to my feet, looking over in the direction I heard the source from, and that's when I saw it.

A Bastion unit. It was a live one!

I yelped, falling on my already bruised enough behind as I desperately tried to crawl away from it. The Bastion let out a few whirls and beeps, stepping out from the bush he was hiding from.

"Please don't hurt me!" I spoke hastily.

The Bastion stopped, tilting his head to the side curiously at me. This action seized my attempt to keep crawling back as I took the time to quickly catch my breath, the volume of my heavy breathing slowing going down. After looking at me for a while, he looked down at the machine gun prosthetic he had equipped as his right hand. Once he realized what I had mean't, he returned his gaze towards me. His blue optic glowed brighter as he waved his metal left hand side to side frantically, lowering his weapon while doing so.

I watched him with a slight confusion as I spoke again slowly, raising a brow at the robot. "You're... not going to hurt me?"

The Bastion beeped once more as it took a couple steps towards me. Those were the same footsteps that I heard last night after I fell...

The robot extended its hand towards me, wanting me to grasp it. I rose my hand towards it, hesitating slightly before taking it. The metal was a tad cold, but smooth. It reminded me of Genji and our interaction back at Hanamura. The cool metal squeezed against my hand as he helped me up to my feet.

"Are you the one that saved me?" I asked.

The Bastion nodded its head in reply. Before I could continue, the chirping sound of a bird caught my attention as I looked over to the side, watching as a beautiful yellow bird flew it's way towards us. It flew around us before perching itself on Bastion's finger, tweeting happily.

"Is he a friend of yours?" I questioned curiously, a small smile forming on my lips.

Bastion acknowledged the answer by bringing the bird over to his right shoulder, where a bird nest was located. The bird jumped up into it, nestling its body into the nest as it adjusted a twig or two. I smiled at the bird, trying to resist the urge to reach out and pet its little head. I didn't want to accidentally scare him off.

Bastion beeped a couple of times, pointing at my communicator. I lifted it up, showing it off towards the robot.

"This thing? It's a communicator," I explained. "Well, it was anyway."

Bastion whirled curiously at the object. I watched as Bastion's metal hand suddenly transformed into a tiny welder. He slowly brought it down towards the device as the tip of the tool sparked to life. The heat from it nearly burned my skin as I hissed, jumping back.

"Ouch!"

It startled the bird as he jumped up from his nest, flying around us with worry. I shook my head, carefully removing my communicator from my wrist.

"Perhaps you should repair it while I'm not wearing it?" I suggested.

Bastion nodded his head with agreement as he looked around the clearing. Spotting a large, smooth boulder, he motioned his body in that direction. I followed him towards it as I set the device down on the smooth surface, allowing Bastion to get to work.

********

Their horses, Spirit and Willow, were breezing by the trail at an exhilarating rate as Jesse and Hanzo rode through Torbjorn's trail. Retracing their steps, Jesse showed Hanzo the exact location of where he and Torbjorn had lost Hope.

While they were doing that, Winston went off with the rest of the group, splitting off as they began their search in another part of the forest near their location. Meanwhile, Tracer, Zenyatta, and Mercy volunteered to stay behind, and wait for the arrival of the team's newest recruit.

Once they arrived at the top of the hill, Jesse told Hanzo what exactly had happened last night. Lightning struck, Hope fell off the horse, and then got swept away by the mudslide. They maneuvered their horses carefully down the steep hill, reaching the bottom. Taking a look at the ground below them, Hanzo signaled Jesse to stop.

"Wait," he spoke.

Stepping off his horse, Hanzo knelt down on the ground, placing his hand on the dirt. He spotted faint hand prints, and a shape of a body.

"Hope was here," he acknowledged, looking up at the cowboy.

"Are you sure?" He asked in reply, sounding hopeful as he too stepped off Spirit, petting him lightly before grouping up with Hanzo.

"Very sure," The archer nodded, turning his attention back to the dirt, feeling it with his fingers. "Judging by the deepness of the print, she struggled to get back up."

"So there's a chance she's was injured from the fall?" Jesse realized.

"Most likely," Hanzo replied. He glanced up, a new set of prints catching his attention. He walked over to them, examining them carefully. "Odd..."

"What is it?" Jesse perked his head up. "Did'ja find something?"

"There are a new set of tracks here," Hanzo answered. "But they don't appear to be human..."

"Animal?" Jesse suggested.

Hanzo shook his head. "No, defiantly not that."

"Well, whoever or whatever they belong to," Jesse scratched his beard with uncertainty. "Do you think they took her?"

"We won't know until we find out for ourselves," Hanzo stated.

Walking back over to Willow, Hanzo grabbed his bow that was strapped to the side of the saddle before reaching back into his quiver, Hanzo pulled out an arrow. This arrow was different, however. On the end of it was a small sphere with a blue ring around it.

"What'cha doing there?" Jesse questioned as he watched Hanzo arm the bow.

He pulled the arrow back with the string, taking aim at the end of the non-human tracks. "Marked by the dragon," he muttered before releasing the arrow. Once it struck its target, Hanzo blinked, his eyes changing from his pure brown orbs to a bright red. They were special contact lenses that allowed the archer to see anything behind any walls, or other obstacles that might be in his path. In this case, it was all the trees and bushes.

The prints were outlined in red as Hanzo followed the trail of his eyes, leading away from their current location. There was someone else following along with the square like tracks. It was a pair of lines in the dirt. Taking one more look at the prints of Hope's hands and body, Hanzo discovered that was were the trail originated from.

Whatever had found her ended up dragging her along with it.

"I know where they are," Hanzo spoke as he blinked again, deactivating the contact lenses.

"Who?" Jesse questioned as the both of them saddled back up on their steads.

"Miss Ivery," Hanzo answered. "And the thing that dragged her along with it."

Hearing him say that, Jesse narrowed his eyes, jaw clutched as his hands tightening on the reins of his horse. "Lead the way, Hanzo,"

"The quicker you keep up with me, the sooner we'll find her," Hanzo replied determinedly as he slapped his reins, ordering his horse to move on a head as Jesse quickly followed behind him, radioing the rest of the team about Hanzo's discovery as they followed the trail.

Tracer calls back acknowledging them of their find. She also tells them that their new recruit has just arrived, and that both he and Angela will have the medical bay ready for Hope when they return.

********

Once Bastion was done repairing my communicator, I slipped it back on. Upon activating it, I discovered two things. 1; Communications link was still down. 2; The satellite map was working!

With it I was finally able to figure out where the heck I was. I wasn't able to locate Eichenwalde castle based off my current location. However, I was able to find something that would help me find my way back to said castle! Winston's shuttle! If the communication up-link on the ship was still working, I could get a message out to the others and let them know I was alright, and then just followed the trail back to the castle.

To make the trip go faster, Bastion literally transformed himself into a tank. He waved for me to climb on him, as the bird perched itself on my shoulder. The ride was basically smooth sailing, and strange to say the least. I mean it wasn't every day you'd get the chance to ride on top of a tank that could turn into a robot, that's for sure.

After riding around for a while, we finally found the shuttle. I hooped off Bastion as he transformed back into his robot mode. The yellow bird fluttered around, looking at the ship curiously. I ran over to the side of the ship, finding the switch that lowered the giant door and allowed me inside.

"I'll just be a few moments, Bastion," I informed the robot.

He waved back at me before turning around, scanning the area.

Stepping inside the ship, I took a moment to reflect back on when this used to be our little HQ. Smiles at those moments, I then made my way over to the communication table, powering it on. The surface of the table came to life, followed by the touch pad keyboard as I began to type away on the keys.

"Can anyone hear me?" I spoke, connecting through the links.

For the first few seconds, the line was complete static. Then that all too familiar southern accent caught my ears.

"Hope? Is that you?"

"Jesse!" I squealed happily.

"Hope! Thank god almighty," He sighed with relief. I could practically hear his smile on the other end of the line. "Are you alright?"

"I'm cold, damp, dirty, covered in mud, and my body is aching all over," I listed with a dread. "But other than that, I'm alive and well."

He chuckled light hardly. "That's good to hear. Listen, me and Hanzo are out here looking for you. Can you tell us where you are?"

"I'm back at the shuttle," I answered.

"Sit tight, we'll come and get'cha," He assured.

"Roger that, McCree," I acknowledged.

I ended the call before cheering out of pure joy. At last I was going to be reunited with my friends. Sure it didn't feel all that long, but I was glad that I was going to be back in the company of friends. I made my way out of the shuttle, regrouping with Bastion who was spending some time with his bird friend, helping him find some new sticks and twigs for his nest.

"Good news! My friends are on their way!" I exclaimed. Bastion beeped excitedly, fist pumping. I laughed at his reaction, smiling at the robot. "Thank you for saving me last night, and helping me find my way,"

Bastion chirped in reply, titling his head at me. After a few moments of waiting, quiet sounds of galloping caught our attention as they grew louder and louder, heading our way. I stepped up beside Bastion just as two horses, Spirit and Willow, emerged from the bushes. With Jesse McCree and Hanzo Shimada as their riders.

"Jesse! Hanzo!" I greeted with shout.

They were all smiles when they saw me, but once their eyes met the optic of Bastion, their expressions changed in no time flat.

"Hope, take cover!" Hanzo yelled as he and Jesse jumped off their horses and armed themselves.

"No, wait!" I shouted, standing between them with my arms out. The two Overwatch agents were on edge, their weapons aimed at the robot as Bastion froze, looking between the two of them as he was unsure of what to do, his machine gun prosthetic shaking slightly. "Don't shoot!"

"Hope, it's a Bastion! A living Bastion!" Jesse exclaimed. "Get over here before it blows a bullet in ya!"

"No, no, no, he's friendly!" I shook my head at the cowboy. "You've got it all wrong!"

"How?" Hanzo questioned, standing firm as his gaze never strayed from the robot.

"Bastion saved my life!" I stated.

I suddenly felt a rush of pain along my back. I hissed harshly from the pain as I collapsed to my knees, falling to my side. The two men yelped, about to come for me. Bastion was quicker, kneeling down as he used his metal hand to gently push me up in a sitting position as he whirled with concern. I looked up at the cowboy and archer, their eyes widened with surprise.

"You can trust him," I spoke reassuringly.

The two agents exchanged glances with each other, staring for a brief moment. As if reading each others thoughts, they both nodded in agreement, putting away their weapons. The two cautiously made their way towards us, Bastion stepped back as Jesse knelt down beside me, carefully taking me in his arms and lifting me in a bridal position.

"Thank you, Bastion," Hanzo spoke, nodding towards the robot.

Bastion nodded in reply as his little bird flew back towards him, perching itself on top of his head. It chirped happily, tilting its head in our direction.

Carrying me away, Jesse and Hanzo made their way back to their horses. Hanzo climbed up first before Jesse carefully handed me off to him as I was placed in front of the archer, his right arm against my back, and my head resting on chest anchoring me to stay on the stead. Jesse finally climbed back on Spirit, signalling Hanzo to ride out.

I managed to sneak one more look at Bastion as he waved goodbye. "See you around..." I muttered quietly, saying goodbye to my new friend.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shoutout to @Umi_Ryuu for being my first comment on AO3! Thank you so much, you made my day! :D


	16. Lucio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope returns to EIchenwalde castle safely, has a weird dream, and finally meets the newest member of their team!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is slightly shorter than the usual length. If you like what you saw, leave a comment, kudos, and if you have any questions about the story, hit me up on Tumblr @maddieautobot273

The gentle gallops of Willow's hooves gently rocked me to sleep in Hanzo's arms just as the archer and McCree rode back into Eichenwalde. They crossed through the village, passed under the first gate and crossed the bridge towards the front gates of the castle. 

_I awoke to find myself back in the forest where I had collapsed from the mud slide. I was still covered in mud, dirt and my hair and clothes were soaking wet as the rain poured down from the sky._

_I looked around frantically and was completely and utterly confused as to why I was here. What was happening? Was I having a dream?_

_The lightning flashed as it briefly showed my surroundings, as before it was too dark to see. When the light shinned, I saw two figures a few feet away from me. One male, one female. When the lighting first struck, I could have sworn it looked like me and my brother, Dave._

_I pushed myself up from the mud to try and get a better look, but when the lightning flashed again, the appearances of the figures changed. This time they weren't my sibling and myself. They were my grandparents._

_The same grandparents that died in the crossfire of an Overwatch mission._

_Reinhardt's words echoed around me. "Jeffery was a family friend, as was his wife, Bethanny. God rest their souls, you're a spitting image of her!"_

_I looked over at the elderly woman, and that's when I saw it. Reinhardt was right. The resemblance between the two of us was like something out of this world!_

_But they weren't alone._

_Behind them, there was another figure. He wore a black cloak and when I saw the white owl like mask, my skin turned pale as Reaper raised his weapons towards their bodies._

_The voice of the younger version of me filled my mind, asking questions of them to my parents. "Mommy? Daddy? What were they like? What did they do? What exactly happened to grandma and grandpa?"_

_The voice of my mother replying, "Not now," startled me as another flash of lightning pierced the sky, and at this point, my grandparents were on their knees, huddling closely together as they were at the mercy of the Talon agent._

_"No... No, no, no!" my lips trembled, my voice getting louder._

_At this point I was really trying to get up to my feet, but the mud was proving to be quite slippery at best. By the time I managed to reach out to them with a scream, Reaper pulled the trigger and everything flashed a bright red in my eyes, before fading into white._

_********_

I was out like a light by the time we returned, so I had no idea what events had occurred until I awoke. I was either sleeping next to a heater or the room itself was incredibly warm. I woke up in a hospital bed, white fluffy blankets keeping me warm. I felt lighter than before, and realize that I was feeling the fabric of the blanket on a lot more exposed skin than usual. I took a peek to find that I had a new change of clothes, a black sports bra with matching sweat pants. 

I also took notice that I was now completely clean and dry. My hair was tied back into a pony tail and no longer damp, my skin was completely rid of mud stains, although when I took the peek to examine my attire, I spotted a few bruises here and there. 

I looked over to the side to see my communicator placed on a side table next to my bed. Next to it was a hand-held music player. It certainly wasn't mine, that was for sure. The device seemed to illuminate some sort of yellow aura around it. Green circles surrounded the frog icon as a song played quietly, the rhythms and beats, and base drops making the lines move and pop. I recognized that logo, but I couldn't recall ever hearing that song before. 

Looking back up towards the ceiling, I slowly rose my hand to my forehead, finding a bandage wrapped around it. There was also one wrapped around my left arm, and I felt one more along my back. I hissed, nearly biting my tongue with  my teeth as I attempted to sit up. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" A male voice yelped. It sounded strangely familiar to me. Before I could even react, I felt a pair of hands grasp my shoulder and right arm, gently pushing me back down into my pillow. "Easy, don't try to move just yet," 

His voice was so smooth, so warm, and it had a certain flair to it. I knew it sounded familiar to me, but I just couldn't quite put my finger on it.  

That was until I looked up and saw his face, and gazed into his beautifully pure brown eyes. 

The man had dark skin with matching brown hair that turned blonde nearing the tips of his dreadlocks with yellow metal like beads tied to the end of his hair. He wore a green tank top with his mascot on his chest and a frog tattoo on his upper left arm, blue sweat pants and matching blue and green Nike sneakers. He looked to be about the same age as me, if not a bit older. 

My eyes widened, my lips stuttering as I tried to form a proper sentence. "Ah---Y-you're---" 

He chuckled lightly, a small smile forming as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you," 

"No, no, it's fine," I quickly defended, waving my hands with reassurance. "It's just--- I was expecting someone else," 

"Oh! You mean Dr. Zigelar?" He realized suddenly. "She had to step out for a minute, so she asked me to keep an eye on you. But she'll be back," 

I nodded with understanding as I tried to stop my hands from shaking. My palms were beginning to sweat as I fiddled with my fingers slightly. This has to be a dream. There's no way he of all people would be here! 

He seemed to notice my nervous behavior as his face lit up, playfully smacking himself in the side of the head. " **Claro!** Where are my manners?" He shook his head before extending his hand towards me. "It's safe to say you already know who I am, and I've already been filled in about who you are, but how about we introduce ourselves properly? My name is Lucio. Lucio Correia dos Santos," 

It was him. It was actually him! I slowly rose my hand, grasping his before gently shaking it. "I'm Hope. Hope Ivery," 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hope," He greeted with a bright smile. 

"Y---Yeah, you too," I smiled back. "If you don't mind me asking, but what exactly are you doing here?" 

"Oh, right! You didn't get the news yet, the Doctor mentioned that," He realized, eyes widening. He psyched himself up, clapping his hands together. "To make a long story short, the UN is considering to lift the Petras Act. So they're putting a temporary ban on it to see what Overwatch does out in their next few missions, and they allowed them bring in a new recruit, so Lena called me up!" 

"So it's your job to judge us?" I asked with curiosity.  

"Give or take," he shrugged, rolling his eyes with a tease. "But with you guys around, I don't I need to worry too much," 

"Well then, welcome to the team," I greeted. "Sorry we couldn't exactly meet in better circumstances,"

"Ah, it's no big deal," he waved it off. "How are you feeling by the way?"

"A lot better than I was---" I paused a brief moment before continuing. "How long have I been out for?" 

"Since this morning," Lucio clarified before checking the time on his digital wrist watch. "It is now currently 7:35pm," 

"Aw man," I sighed. "I missed dinner..." 

" **Não se preocupe!** I'm sure Reinhardt saved you something," He lightly patted my shoulder. 

When he touched me again I could have sworn I felt my cheeks heat up. My heart began to beat twice as fast. Lucio, my favourite musician and quite possibly one of the most inspiring and influential people I've ever looked up to on this planet, was now an Overwatch agent! Which means that I would be working along side him! 

"So sorry for keeping you waiting," Angela spoke up as she entered the room, Lena Oxton following in behind her. 

"Not a problem, Dr. Zieglar," Lucio waved before stepping to the side to allow the women to see me. "Look who just woke up,"

"Hope, love!" Lena beamed. She blinked right towards me, her arms engulfing me into a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thanks to Angela," I sighed with relief. 

"It wasn't just me you know," She corrected. "Lucio was great assistance," 

"You did?" I gasped with surprise, looking up at the DJ. 

"Yeah, with this little invention of mine," he exclaimed, picking up his music player. "The song that's playing right now? It's something I've been working on for a while. The vibrations from the song creates a healing boost that transfers to your body and tends to your wounds to heal you,"

"Pretty neat, huh?" Tracer grinned, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Very neat," I agreed. "And let me just say that it's working very well. I feel hundred times better than I did this morning," 

"Really?" His smile brightened. " **Impressionante!** I'm so glad to hear that," 

"What is that song?" I asked. "I don't think I've heard it before," 

"It's a remix of one of my debut songs, **"Rejuvenescência"** , strictly Overwatch exclusive," He announced proudly. 

"Lena, why don't you finally show Lucio where he will be staying?" Angela suggested. "I can take it from here," 

"Sure thing, doc," Lena saluted as she blinked over to the door, waving at the DJ. "Come on, Lucio, I'll race ya!"

"You're on," He grinned at the British agent before looking over at myself one last time. "Winston told me you're good at hacking, so I guess we'll be working together soon. See you around?"

It took me a moment to answer him as I was too busy eternally screaming in my brain. Me and Lucio will be working together? As in side by side?! 

I quickly nodded my head, trying my best to compose myself. "Yeah! S---See you around," 

He waved goodbye as he stepped away from the bed, giving his regards to Angela before picking up his duffel bag carrying his personal belongings as he followed Tracer out of the room.  

Once the two of them were out of the room, I grabbed my pillow as I brought it around and up against my face before screaming into the pillow. Angela must have thought I was nuts but I didn't care. Once my little heart attack was over, I moved my face away from the pillow as I processed what had just happened. 

"That--- That was Lucio," I realized, breathing ecstatically. "That was **the** Lucio!" 

"Does someone have a little crush on the new guy?" The Doctor teased as she brought me a blanket and a cup of water. 

I fiddled with my hair nervously. "Well, I wouldn't exactly say a crush..."

Angela giggled at my antics as she handed me the cup, watching me drink it. "I think it's sweet, Hope," 

"I think it's going to take me a while to process all of this," I spoke honestly. 

I set the cup aside before pushing the bed covers off me and accepting Angela's blanket. As I did so, something in Angela's lab coat pocket vibrated. She pulled her phone out, tapping the screen. 

"What is it?" I asked.

"McCree texted me," She spoke. "... It's urgent,"  

Puzzled by the sudden message, Angela gently helped me up from the bed and slipped my communicator on my wrist, and once we realized I was well enough to walk on my own, the two of us made our way to the living area of the castle. Everyone was present in the room, the TV turned on as the volume was turned up higher than usual.

"What's going on?" I asked just as Lucio and Lena entered the room. 

"There's been two terror attacks," Winston answered. 

Eyes widening, I focused my attention back on the screen to read the main headline and the bottom side scrolling headlines. 

**"Terror attacks back to back! Russa and Numbani targeted!"**

**"Russia is on high alert after the Reaper has been sighted at Volskia Industries during a failed attempt to assassinate CEO Tatiya Volskia."**

**"Doomfist has laid waste to the Numbani International Airport after escaping prison and stealing the Doomfist Gauntlet."**

The room fell silent as my communicator vibrated suddenly. Raising my wrist, I tapped the screen as a holoscreen appeared before me. Athena brought up the notification tab and directed it to the source.

The Sombra Protocol. 

There was a new message. 

I slowly turned my head towards my Spanish translator, my eyes filled with worry as he caught my gaze. "Jesse?"

He stood up from his spot on the couch next to Hanzo and Genji as he made his way to my side, gently placing his metal arm around my shoulders as he took a look at the screen. 

 **"El tiempo de descanso ha terminado. Tienes algo que hacer, amigo mío."** He spoke slowly. "Rest time is over. You have something to catch up on, my friend."


	17. Volskaya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope, Winston, and Genji travel to Volskaya Industries to learn more about what happened when Talon attacked.

It was decided that we'd split into two teams, one going back to Numbani, and the other to Russia to investigate Volskaya Industries. Lucio, Reinhardt, and Zenyatta would travel to Numbani to meet with Efi Oladele who was there when Doomfist attacked. She has notable achievements in robotics and artificial intelligence, and recently won the Adawe Foundation's prestigious "genius grant". Coincidence that Doomfist attacked the same day Efi was suppose to leave on a trip with her parents. Could she have been the target? That's what Lucio's team would be figuring out. 

Even though a small part of me hoped that Lucio and I would be working together on this mission, Winston had a point. With Lucio now assisting me in cracking the Sombra protocol every now and then, we decided to split up, cover more ground. Athena was able to pinpoint two different types of data within the code, relating to each of our destinations that were attacked. While Lucio dealt with the second Numbani code, I would handle the Volskaya code.

Which means, I was on the Russia team. More specifically with Winston and Genji. The rest of the team were back in Eichenwalde in the event another terrorist attack occurred while we were out and the UN wanted us to look into it. 

The journey to Moscow wasn't long, but the anticipation was putting me on edge. I got started cracking on the Volskaya code during our trip, hoping that perhaps it might shed some light on what exactly Talon would have gained for Katya Volskaya, Volskaya Industries CEO. Lucio's team arrived at their destination a lot earlier than we did. We chatted about both our current progress on decoding our set of new codes. We gave each other some pointers on different routes and algorithms to try, and I asked him about his flight. 

He said it was fine, but he got into a bit of debate with Reinhardt regarding his taste in music. 

"You kids today with your techno music," The German huffed. "You should listen to the classics, like Hassolhaf!" 

"Reinhardt, I can not take you seriously right now," Lucio scoffed. 

I giggled, trying to muffle my laughter with my hand as I chatted with Lucio through the com-link of my communicator. A small blush blossomed as my cheeks turned a light shade of pink. I thought their little chat was quite amusing. After saying our farewell, Genji who sat a couple seats down from me, glanced up from his meditating position, looking over at me. 

"Who were you talking to, Hope?" 

I perked my head up, looking over at the cyborg. "Hm? Oh, it was Lucio, checking in on each others progress in the Sombra Protocol." 

"I see..." He spoke, his voice trailing off.

"Why do you ask?" I questioned, tilting my head with confusion.

"Your face is blushing," he stated in reply.

Wait--! Had he heard our conversation? Did he hear me laugh?!

"I-I-I'm not blushing," I babbled nervously, tearing my gaze away from him. "I was just-- laughing at a funny story Lucio told me," 

Genji chuckled, shaking his head at my reaction as he quietly muttered to himself, "Looks like McCree is not the only one who's _got it bad_ for someone..." 

I froze, my mind screaming. I am just **so glad** Winston was talking to the pilots in the flight deck right now so he wouldn't have to hear that. Genji could sense my reaction to his words, and I could practically picture a devilish grin on his lips and playfully teasing eyes under that mask of his as he resumed his meditation. Not wanting to focus on that any longer, I returned my gaze to the holoscreen of my communicator, opening the new code from the Sombra Protocol. 

The code appeared to be hiding some sort of image file, but of what? 

Before I could get the chance to perform the decryption, the jet jerked to a stop, indicating that we had arrived at our destination. The Russians sent a plane for us to bring us to Volskaya's main factory to investigate the facility, and find out why the attempted assassination happened in the first place. 

Stepping off the plane, I sent a signal to Athena for her to begin the auto-pilot sequence of the decryption. If I was going to be of more help with my friends, I wouldn't be able to do that just by staring my holo-screen for the entire trip. 

I pulled the hood of the winter jacket Angela loaned me over my head, protecting myself from the cold as Winston, Genji, and myself made our way across the tarmac  rendezvousing with one of our contacts. She was a strong, muscular woman with short dyed pink hair and sparkling blue eyes (though they had a hint of green as well). She wore a blue jumpsuit with matching blue and red gloves with the number "512" tattooed on her left shoulder. Her hands were placed firmly on her hips until she spotted our approach, greeting us with open arms.

"Welcome comrades!" She greeted.

"You must be Aleksandra Zaryanova?" Winston was the first to speak, adjusting his glasses before the two shook hands.

" **Da** , Zarya is fine," She confirmed. "Thank you for coming,"

"We can assure you, we'll help you find the ones responsible," Winston replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Winston, with Overwatch's help, it will make our enemies even regret trying to--" The Russian stopped herself, taking a glance over in my direction. At first she was looking over at me, but then her stare went cold and that's when I realized caused her sudden change in expression.

She noticed Genji. 

"Forgive me, but I was unaware that you'd be bringing an omnic," Zarya spoke with uncertainty. "Especially to a place like this,"

I immediately felt the tension between the two. Narrowing my eyes, I stepped forward. "He's not an omnic, he's a cyborg!" 

"Hope---" Genji spoke up.

"What?" I questioned, turning back to face him. 

"It's alright, let me handle this," He nodded firmly, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. Reluctantly, I shot Zarya one more glare before stepping to the side, allowing Genji to continue. "My friend is correct. I am not an omnic," 

"How am I suppose to trust a man who is half machine?" Zarya asked, crossing her arms. 

"The heart of a man still beats inside of me," Genji explained, placing a metal hand over his chest. "I will not cause you any more trouble that you don't need, Zarya," 

There was a brief moment of silence as the pink haired woman processed Genji's heed, before her arms relaxed from their crossed expression. "I better hope not, but I will be keeping an eye on you, cyborg," 

 _Ouch_. Winston coughed, stepping in as he interrupted the little feud between the pair. "Why don't we move on and proceed with our investigation. Shall we?"

"Yes, lets," Zarya agreed as she motioned her head to the side. "Follow me inside, I will take you to Katya," 

As Winston proceeded to follow Zarya inside the facility, I looked over at Genji with an apologetic look in my eyes. "I'm sorry about that, Genji," 

"It's fine, Hope, and truth be told, I don't exactly blame her," Genji responded as the two of us began to walk. "Considering that Russia is currently fighting in the 2nd Omnic Crisis, I understand Miss Zaryanova's feelings towards their opponent," 

We caught up to Winston and Zarya as the Russian soldier helped u breeze by the security check point before running us the play by play of how the attack happened. At least the parts they were able to catch on camera. 

Well, any camera that wasn't hacked anyway.

Reaper and Widowmaker were let in through one of the side entrances through the cargo hold. Whether one of their operatives sneaked in before them and hacked the door or they had inside help, she did not know. The turrets were disabled outside the main warehouse and that's when the first shot was fired. Eye witnesses reported a second assailant outside as Reaper moved in inside to finish the job. A sniper, taking out any other guard that would try to get back inside. 

_Widowmaker!_

Zarya took us inside the main warehouse and what we found was absolutely brutal. It looked like the after math of one of those giant mecha fights back in Australia! Three giant mechs were down for the count, spots of blue flames with a hint of purple at their tips fizzled across the metal armour of these war machines, along with a few bodies of guards here and there along the floor, covered up as police took photos and examined the crime scene. 

"Such a shame," Zarya sighed. "They would have insured Russia's future against the Omnium," 

"Reaper did _that_?" I gawked. 

But how? How could he had taken out three giant robots all on his own? Unless he pulled off that fancy move he did back in the first Numbani attack back at the museum. 

I briefly paid my respects to the men and woman who lost their lives in the attack, muttering a quick prayer before I followed the trio into a yellow elevator that took us to to the upper levels of the warehouse. Upon exiting, and making our way across the catwalk, I looked down to notice that a piece of a walkway below us had been sliced off, the edges burnt to a crisp. 

At the other side of the catwalk was Katya Volskaya's office. The woman was waiting for us inside, sitting at her desk. She wore a white suit with matching red leggings and white heels, with sharp earrings and piercing blue eyes with her hair tied back in a bun. 

"Thank you Zarya, please wait outside," She spoke, her thick accent showing. Zarya nodded as she waved the three of us forward before taking her leave, shutting the door behind her. Katya stood up from her desk, walking around it to greet us. " **Hello** , thank you for coming,"

"Thank you for for calling upon us," Winston replied, shaking her hand before introducing Genji and I. "I'm Winston, and this is my assistant Hope Ivery, and Agent Genji Shimada,"

"Greetings Mrs. Volskaya," Genji spoke sympathetically. "We are glad you are alright after all that has happened here," 

"Thank you for your kind words, Agent Shimada," Katya approved. "Now then, shall we proceed?"

I nodded with agreement. "Well, I guess one place to start is; Why do you think Talon went after you?"

"I do not know," she replied with distress. "Like most of the people of the world, I do not enjoy Talon's acts of terror, but I've never made any threats directly to them to provoke such an attack." 

"Are you sure? Not even unintentionally?" I asked. 

"I'm very sure," She replied with an incredible amount of confidence. "Everyone knows that Russia is at war with the Omnium here. They must have done this to try and scare us."

As Katya talked with Winston and Genji, my communicator beeped. I rose my wrist up towards my face as I tapped the screen, bringing up the holo-screen in front of me. It was Lucio.

"Hey! I got a hit on the Numbani code!" He exclaimed.

"What did you find?" I asked.

"Looks like they it's schematics for some sort of virus. A time bomb to be exact. Looks like it was rigged into West Africa's Mass Prison during its last security sweep a couple days ago, and it was timed to go off this morning. The whole building went off the grid, allowing Doomfist and quite possibly some of his jailbird buddies to escape," He explained, displaying the algorithm. 

"So Talon broke him out of prison?" I realized. "Which means they're responsible for both attacks,"

"And bingo was his name-o," Lucio sang.

"Anything else happen down there?"I questioned. 

"Yeah, we found this girl, Efi Oladele," He added. "Great kid! She was the one that took the photo of the aftermath of the airport showdown with Doomfist and the OR-15's."

"What did she tell you?" I asked.

"Everything regarding what she saw of the attacks. Her parents have been kind enough to us hang at their place, although she's been cooped up in her room for a long time now," He answered. "What about you? Crack your code yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm hoping it's---"

My communicator beeped again as a second holoscreen appeared beside my comlink chat with Lucio.  It looked like the auto-decryption was finished. I touched it and the missing image file appeared. What I saw was completely shocking to say the least. 

"Lucio? Can I call you back?" I spoke slowly.

"Uh, sure, Hope," Lucio answered, sounding a bit puzzled. "Let me know if anything happens."

Trust me. Something indeed is going to happen. 

I ended the call, disabling the first screen as I stepped back towards the group. 

"Mrs. Volskaya?" I rose my voice, interrupting the conversation. All eyes were on me as I met the woman's gaze. "You say you are at war with the omnics trying to invade Russia, but how do you explain this?"

I flipped the holoscreen over so the rest of the group could get a good look at it. The image was Kataya Volskaya in what appeared to be an alley, trading money and for a strange looking orb. It was a black market deal. With an omnic.

And for the first time during this visit, I saw the most powerful woman in Russia appear terrified before me. 

"Where did you get that?" She gasped. 

"First answer my question; Can you explain this?" I interrogated. 

Kataya stayed silent for a few moments as the atmosphere in the room intensified. I could sense Genji's aura change, growing cautious of the woman before them, slowly moving his hand to grasp the handle of the small katana blade hitched on his lower back. 

"I admit... I was running out of resources for new weaponry for my mechs. He offered me a new power source and I accepted it," She sighed. "I tried to cover it up, because---"

"You didn't want your home country to think that you were collecting your new technology from the enemy," Winston cut her off, realizing her motive. 

"So, I've answered your question," Kataya began. "Now you answer mine; Where did you get that?"

Genji and Winston's gaze turned towards me. I knew I couldn't exactly tell Kataya about the Sombra protocol. But she did eventually give in and told us the truth. It's only fair that we do the same. Partly anyways.

"I found it while... archiving through Talon data we salvaged from a cyber-attack," I answered. "Does someone else other than the two of us own this image?"

"... Just one," She answered.

"And that would be whom?" Genji questioned, releasing the grip on his sword.

"The third Talon agent that was part of this attack," Kataya answered.

_Wait... third agent?!_

"The one who pointed a gun at my head, and threatened my daughter's life."  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this chapter took so long guys! Enjoy!!!


	18. Junkers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and the others fly out of Russia to meet up with the others, but the flight doesn't go according to plan...

Katya described the third Talon agent as a Latin American woman, possibly in her late 20's or early 30's. She had brown hair with purple tips which hanged from her right side while the other half of her had had been shaved off, and wore a strange metal looking brace around the back of her head. Her outfit was a purple high tech trench coat with matching gloves and blue leggings and runners. To match the outfit, she had piercing purple eyes.

Katya explained that she could display holoscreens and hack various electronic devices right from her finger tips. That detail completely blew my mind. From what I have seen, no one has been able to use that kind of tech before! At least not a human for that matter. A god AI program like Athena could pull that off, heck even some highly upgraded Omnics too.

But this was a human Katya was talking about, not an Omnic or a GOD program.

Who was she?

"Did you catch her name by any chance?" Winston questioned.

Katya shook her with dismay. "Niet. She had a com-link, but it was hard to hear who was speaking through the over line,"

"What about the security cameras?" The gorilla pressed on. "Was there any footage that survived?"

"None," She sighed. "The cameras were hacked as soon as they set foot on the property,"

My nostrils quietly flared with frustration. Looks like tracking this Talon agent down was going to be a lot tougher than we thought it would be.

The woman paused, looking like she was about to say something else but held her tongue. "Then again," she turned back over to her desk to grab a pen and piece of paper as she scribbled a drawing. She turned back around and handed it to me, "I did catch this,"

I took the paper in my hand and looked down at the drawing. It appeared to be a symbol, a skull. Was this the agent's call sign perhaps? Like how Batman had the bat signal?

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Volskaya," Winston shook hands with the CEO once more, "We'll work to find out who this third agent is,"

"Thank you, all three of you," She praised. "I am in your debt,"

Once our investigation was over, Zarya redirected us through the facility and back to our transport. The plan was to fly down to Numbani to meet up with the others to hear of their progress on Doomfist's whereabouts, and then take our own shuttle the Numbani team used back to home base in Eichenwalde.

I wasn't keeping track of how long we were in the air for. All my attention had been focused on Katya's drawing. The skull. Something about it kept nagging me in the back of my mind. Had I seen this before from somewhere? I couldn't have, could I?

"You seem quiet, Hope,"

I jumped in my seat, glancing up to meet Winston's gaze. Genji was off to the side meditating again. I shook my head at the gorilla, running my fingers through my hair with a sigh.

"Everything alright?" He asked.

"I just can't seem to wrap my head around this drawing," I explained. "And now judging based on Katya's description, we have more Talon agents to worry about,"

"One step at a time, Hope," Winston lectured with an assuring smile. "We'll figure everything out eventually,"

I smiled back as Winston went back informing the others back in Eichenwalde of the situation.

Setting the drawing down beside me, I tapped the screen of my wrist communicator, bringing up the holoscreen of the Sombra Protocol. Filtering through the previous codes Athena and I cracked, I didn't find any similarities with the image Katya provided me with. It looked like Lucio had started to work on a few of the other codes as well, and judging by how each of the few he worked on had some progress each to share among them, he was struggling to crack them just as much as I was.

However, one of the codes Lucio was cracking caught my attention. I opened the file and it appeared to be a serious of letters and numbers in various spots on the page. It looked like they were trying to form some sort of shape. That's when my mind snapped. Grabbing the drawing, I quickly did a double take as I compared the two images between each other.

I knew what I had to do.

Bringing up another screen to the side of me, I dialed Lucio's frequency number and called him. Within moments, his face appeared on screen and I had to take a moment to stop myself from getting lost in his pure brown eyes and beautiful smile when he greeted me.

"What's up, Hope?"

_This is important! Daydream later!_

"Lucio, you don't mind if I take a crack at one of the codes you were working on decrypting in the Sombra Protocol, do you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, not at all, why? You figured out something?"

"One way to find out," I cracked my knuckles, bringing up a holographic keyboard. "Give me a minute,"

I worked tirelessly to finish cracking this code. Finding the right punctuation and where to properly place each new letter, number, or symbol, I smashed the enter button and final image flashed on the screen.

It was a purple skull.

"I knew it!" I sprang up to my feet with a yelp, startling the others.

Genji flinched, nearly falling out of his meditating position as he sat up, hands immediately going for his weapon. "What? What is it?!"

"I figured it out," flipping the holoscreen around, I brought it closer towards the pair so they could see it. "It's the same skull!"

The gorilla cupped his chin, studying it. "If they are the same, perhaps this third Talon agent must have been the one to create the Sombra Protocol," Winston theorized.

I nodded in agreement, crossing my arms. "That's what I was thinking,"

"These codes gotta relate to Talons operations! Think about it for second," Lucio's voice spoke up as his screen levitated beside the Sombra skull. "First Numbani, and now Volskaya Industries? It all adds up!"

"Like the time at the Museum, and now the incident at the airport," Genji realized, his voice trailing off.

"If they really are connected, we could use these to help move us one step ahead of Talon's various missions," Winston added. "Knowing exactly what they're up to will for sure give us an edge in countering their motives,"

Suddenly the image flashed again, as a series of text began to appear just above the skull. Of course it was in Spanish, but sadly our translate was back at the German castle.  

"Looks like our new _friend_ left us another message," I grunted, hands on my hips. 

"Let me take a crack at it!" Lucio offered. "We may speak Portuguese back home, but I know a bit of Spanish too," 

"What does it say, Lucio?" Winston questioned. 

**_"Parece que te gustan estos jueguitos... por que no jugamos uno de verdad?"_ **

"Translation," Lucio coughed to clear his throat, " _It seems you like these little games... why don't we play a real one?_ " 

No one said a word for a short while after that. The sounds of the plane's engine quietly roaring from the outside of the plane filled our ears as the atmosphere changed around us for the worst. 

"Okay, raise your hand if you are officially crept out by this thing," Genji finally spoke, raising his hand.

"Not gonna lie, I felt a shiver down my spine just now," Lucio gulped, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

"This definitely alarms me, that's for certain," Winston agreed grimly. 

"So we know now that this new female Talon agent created the Sombra Protocol, and that she's been using it to document Talon's missions," I stated. "Two questions stand out to me; Why make the protocol? Who the heck is she?"

There was a loud " **BANG!** " and the plane suddenly shook. It rocked like crazy as my friends and I struggled to keep our balance. Lucio tried to reach out to us but his voice was going in and out as the screen kept clipping snippets of static. There was one more explosion like sound, and that's when the holoscreens burnt out completely and I tumbled to the floor. Genji braced the side of the plane, peeking out through the window as Winston grabbed a handle with one hand, and used the other to carefully help me back up. 

"What was that?!" I yelped, eyes widening with fear.

Either this was some insane turbulence we were experiencing, or there was a slight chance that the plane was under attack somehow. 

"It looks like-- **nani**?!" Genji's visor flashed as he stumbled back from the window he was peering through. 

"What is it, Genji?" Winston asked. 

"Bombs! They were bombs!" The cyborg exclaimed. 

"What?!" Winston and I shrieked in unison. 

"Prepare for emergency landing!" The pilot spoke over the loud speaker. "We're going down!"

Right after the intercom was cut off, I could feel the plane beginning to tip down, indicating that it was making it's sharp descent to the ground below. The three of us took our seats and buckled up, hanging on to our seats for dear life. Winston and Genji may have possibly gone through something like this during their early years working in Overwatch, but me?

I was absolutely terrified! 

"Hope? What's happ---ing?" Lucio's voice sparked to life through the speaker of my communicator. "Y-- Th--e?"

My heart was pounding so hard I felt like it was going to jump right out of my chest, my head was spinning, I could barely breathe from all the shock I was feeling. I'm not gonna lie, I thought we were going to die. You know that saying? Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? That's how I was feeling. Like my mind was playing a trick on me and leading me to believe that I actually was going to die.  

The plane rattled constantly as I peeked through the window, watching as we zoomed closer and closer to the surface below. It looked like it was a savanna, and there were some gorges off in the distance.  

"Lucio, we're gonna---!" 

There was light, and then darkness consumed us upon touchdown.

*******

"Hope? Guys?!" Lucio yelled into his communicator.

He had been trying to reconnect to Hope's signal for the last few minutes now. They were on their way to meet up with them in Numbani to meet Efi and her parents, flying in from Volskiya Industries in Russia. 

He heard Genji yell something about a bomb and then Hope screaming his name and saying, "We're gonna---!" before the feed cut out completely and he lost connection. 

He had stepped outside into the balcony patio of Efi's home, hoping to get a better signal from outside. Reinhardt had retreated with Efi's parents to fetch the girl who had tucked herself away in her workshop, hoping to find something that they could use to help aid them there. Zenyatta hovered through the left open sliding door, sensing the DJ's distress.

"Anything yet?" The monk asked.

"Nothing," He sighed with frustration, turning around to face the omnic, "I think they're in serious trouble," 

"I'm sure Efi will have something to aid us," Zenyatta assured the Brazilian. 

"This is not something I want to explain the United Nations, not by a long shot," He huffed, slapping his hand on the fence. 

"My friends!" Reinhardt bellowed. 

The pair stepped back inside to see Reinhardt storm into the living room. "Efi's father just got off the phone with the Air Traffic Tower. They say they spotted a cargo plane identical to the model our friends were taking just coming into the savanna,"

"And?" Lucio pestered him to keep going. 

The look on Reinhardt's face said it all. He didn't even want to believe his own words, but that was the news that was given to him. "Their plane was... shot down near the gorge!"

"Everyone!" A squeal arose as Efi pushed the front door of her home. "It's finished! I think she can help you find your friends!"

The trio paused, glancing questionable looks at each other before turning their attention back to the 11 year old child. "Her?" They repeated for clarification. 

"Come on," She giggled, waving them to follow her. "I'll introduce you to her!"

They followed her out the door down a small path into the backyard where her workshop was located. She pushed the large sliding door open with some assistance from Rein and that's when they saw it. 

A musical chime indicated the robot had awakened, it's yellow orbs sparking to life. 

"OR-15 activated. Awaiting further instructions..."

Efi giggled at the robot, stepping closer towards it. Towards her...

"No, every hero needs a real name," She stated. "How about... Orisa?"

*******

I could hear voices. A pair, both male. One voice was sharp and clear, the other was low and muffled. It was dark, I could feel a itchy fabric below and boxes were cluttered around my body. Was I... inside a bag?

"Alright, this is the last one," the sharp voice spoke. "Let's see what we won!"

I heard a zipper and was suddenly flashed with a blinding light. When my vision cleared, the voice screamed. "Wait a bloody minute! Dead body in the bag!"

I groaned, feeling an aching pain all over my body as I rose my hands to protect my eyes from the harsh sun.

"Oh, wait! False alarm, Roadie, this one's alive!" The voice corrected. 

The brightness faded, I could finally get a good look at who was speaking. The man appeared to be a young adult, around the same age as me, had light skin with spiky blonde hair and it appeared some of the tips of his hair were... on fire?! With piercing orange eyes to match the flames, he wore a chest collar with bombs attached to the side, and a spare car tire with spikes on his back, green cameo shorts with a jug strapped to the side, and he had matching orange metal limbs on his right arm and leg. 

"Who... who are you? Where am I?" I spoke slowly, rubbing my head as I felt dry stains of blood planted there.

"Uh, you don't know who I am? Junkrat? World famous criminal master-mind?" The man seemed a bit unsure of what to say. He sighed, clapping his hands together. "Alright, girlie, try to stay calm, but it appears this just went from a heist to a kidnapping,"

"Kidnapping?!" I yelped as I sat up instantly, temporarily ignoring the pain in my back as I struggled to get out from the duffel bag. 

"We didn't mean to, honest!" He protested. "Roadie and I here just planned to steal supplies from a plane we bombed and book it on outta here,"

"Plane... wait--!" I jolt up towards Junkrat, grabbing his collar. "My friends were on that plane! What did you do to them?!"

I was instantly pulled back by a strong force. Someone grabbed me by the waist and dragged me away from Junkrat, lifting me up in the air. It was then I finally got a good look at this "Roadie" character. He was a very large man with a piggy tattoo on his belly button and flames around it along his big belly. He wore a similar getup to Junkrat, leather collar, black cameo paints with the phrase "Roadrage" as a belt buckle made from a licence plate. He had short white hair in a pony tail and wore a gas mask to hide his face. 

"I say we kill her," he suggested. "She's dead meat for the animals out here anyway,"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Junkrat protested, waving his hands in the air to signal his partner to stop. "Roadhog, we can use her if the coppers come looking for her about the plane!"

"How?" Roadhog scoffed, tightening his grip on me as I struggled to break free. 

Junkrat suddenly reached up and grabbed the sleeve of my shirt, pointing to something on it. "See that, mate? An Overwatch logo!"

I froze, my eyes widening. This was the jacket that Angela loaned me for the trip to Russia! They must think I'm... oh no!

"The last time I checked, you blokes are illegal now, like us," Junkrat grinned. "There's a pretty penny out there for bringing you people in,"

"We already have what we came for, let's stick with what we got for now," Roadhog stated.

"Boys, listen, this is just a big misunderstanding," I assured them nervously, trying to talk my way out of the situation. "I'm not really--"

"Not another word out of you, Missy!" Junkrat pointed a finger at me before looking over at Roadhog. "Roadie, get the cuff for me, will ya?"

Roadhog stood there for a moment, thinking the plan over. "If this doesn't work, you're both dead," He let go and dropped me to the ground before taking a walk down a side path of the gorge. Hissing from the pain, I looked around to find out that they had some other stuff laying around in this small open area of the gorge. Motorcycle, tools, spare parts, it looked like this was their own little hideout. 

"Now then, if there are more of you out there like you said there were," Junkrat began, stepping up a trap as he locked it onto my ankle. "Chances are your buddies will come looking for you, and that means more dough for us,"

He grabbed my neck with his metal limb, and pushed me back up against a boulder. The pain was so unbearable, I could feel tears beginning to cripple down my cheeks. "Let... go of me!"

"How many of you are out there? Where are you hiding?" He asked with a sinister grin on his face. 

His next question was interrupted when something swept by with a **"WHOOSH"** , slicing a few locks of Junkrat's hair, and stuck onto the rock in front of us. It startled the young junker as he let go of me and stepped back. Tilting my head up, I caught the familiar sight of... shurikens. 

"Touch her again, and I just may not miss next time," A voice threatened. 

A metal gleam shined behind us as Junkrat turned and looked up at a near by cliff to see a cyborg ninja standing there, his metal armour shining in the bright African sun. 

A smile of relief formed on my lips, more tears streaming, but this time out of pure joy. "Genji!" 

He jumped down from the cliff, landing ever so gracefully that his impact hardly made a sound. He stood up straight, his posture strong as he stared down Junkrat through his visor. 

"I know you from the tele! You were that cyborg samurai!" He realized.

"I have no quarrel with you, but I will not hesitate to fight if you push me," Genji warned. 

Junkrat chuckled in reply, a mean look on his face. "Oh you really don't wanna tussle with me, samurai," Junkrat threatened. 

Genji sighed, his aura growing tense. He reached back, grabbing the handle of his katana blade. And we all know what that means, now do we? Genji screamed his battle cry as he drew his weapon, the green Spirit Dragon appearing from the blade as his hovered over him, eyeing his prey. 

Oddly enough, Junkrat didn't seem fazed at all by the dragon's appearance. "Yeah that's right, take out that little sword of yours! Fat load of good it's gonna do ya," He grinned as he reached for his back, bringing out his tire. The thing had spikes all along the rubber tire and the side was rigged with a bomb, as well as a pull string trigger that you'd see on classic lawn mowers. "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!"

"Genji, watch out! He was the one that shot the plane down," I warned with a scream. "He's got a bomb!"

Genji stood firm, preparing for the attack as his dragon snarled. When Junkrat pulled the string, I was expecting the tire to rip straight for the ninja. Only it didn't. It appeared the engine had trouble started.

"What the heck is wrong with this---UGH!" Junkrat grumbled as he struggled to get it working. 

Genji's stance relaxed as he slowly lowered his weapon. The spirit dragon slowly descended to the ground, perching itself as it watched the ordeal play out. It's a little hard to tell since he was wearing a mask, but I imagine he had the look of up-most confusion on his face. 

Junkrat laughed nervously, raising a finger. "Ah, one second," he looked over towards the side path, "Roadie!"

"WHAAAT?!" Roadhog yelled. 

Junkrat flinched, glancing over at the cyborg. "We kind of got into a bit of a disagreement before you showed up. He is super pissed at me,"

Genji raised a hand, his head turned. "None of my business,"

"Roadie!" Junkrat went back at it again. "Did you remember to pick up some gas for the riptire?"

Roadhog growled unhappily in reply to the question as his shadow disappeared. 

"No?" Junkrat's face turned pale, looking back over at Genji and his dragon. "Well, f---!"

The spirit dragon sprang into action with the command at Genji's sword. The dragon swooped through Junkrat's body as he tried to push against it like fighting off against a terrible wind storm. When the dragon vanished, Junkrat looked like was completely drained of his energy, and looked like he barely had the strength to stay on his feet. 

It was then I realized that someone else was here, because I saw another figure race towards him from behind. I didn't recognize him at first, but when Junkrat turned to face the new opponent and the dark skinned male raised his sonic amplifier at the junker, I knew right away who it was.

"Boop," Lucio echoed with a grin as he fired his gun, pushing Junkrat back with his weapon as the junker collapsed to the ground, knocked out cold.  

Lucio wore green shades and was armed with some sort of yellow metal backpack on his back over top his tank top with his mascot on this chest with a tube that connected itself with his famous sonic amplifier. His lower half had metal braces and on his feet he wore glowing neon green hover skates. 

"Let's leave quickly before his lackey returns," Genji proclaimed, retracting his weapon. 

He and Lucio made their way towards me, Lucio disarming Junkrat's trap as Genji carefully helped me up. "You alright, Hope? You had us pretty worried for a while there," The DJ questioned with concern.

"I'm fine, now that you guys are here," I smiled with relief at Lucio before glancing over at Genji. "This is the second time you've saved me now, starting to feel like a bit of a burden,"

"While it would help for you to learn how to protect yourself, Hope, I do not mind coming to the aid of my friends," Genji reassured me with a warm tone. 

"If you guys are here, where are the others?" I asked. 

There was a loud " **THUD** " as the three of us looked over to the side tunnel. We saw Roadhog, armed with a large gun, arming it with spare scrap and metal as he began to whined it up and aim it directly at us. 

"Shall we run for our lives?" Lucio suggested.

"Lets," Genji agreed.

With a yelp, Lucio suddenly picked me up in his arms as he activated the speed boost from his amplifier suit, increasing his and Genji's speed as the two of them quickly squired away as Roadhog began to open fire. 

It was now a game of cat and mouse. Roadhog was the cat, and we were the mouse. Technically it's mice since there's three of us. Roadhog continued to trail us, firing his gun at every chance he got when it appeared he had an opening shot at us. I ducked my head down from an incoming piece of debris, tucking it against Lucio's chest. 

"Did you guys have some sort of plan?" I asked nervously. 

"Indeed we do," Lucio smiled as we turned a corner. "NOW!"

Once we turned, a blue barrier suddenly appeared, blocking the rest of Roadhog's shots. Lucio and Genji stopped, turning to watch the display yet the DJ didn't set me down yet. He stopped, caught off guard by the act before attempting to reload his weapon. 

It seemed to happen in slow motion; Out from hiding, a large centaur like robot with a yellow and green colour scheme appeared. Armed with it's large gattling gun, it fired a series of warning shots, shooting the weapon out of Roadhog's hands. 

"Seize your resistance!" It shouted.

With its free hand, it fired a strange green glowing orb just above the man. It suddenly flashed as a green beam shot out and picked up Roadhog, tossing him into the air before dropping him back down to the ground. His body went limb and he huffed in defeat, letting unconsciousness take him. 

"Target neutralized. Analyzing previous combat performance," The robot spoke, speaking with a female computer like voice.

"Well done, Orisa," Genji complimented. "Well done,"

"Hope? You alright now?" Lucio asked, glancing down at me.

I was so entranced by Orisa's retaliation against Roadhog, I almost didn't notice that I was still in Lucio's arms. I looked over at his face, then realizing the position I was in, my face blushed a bright pink. "Huh? Oh--!" I removed my arms from around his neck as he gently set me down on my feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstay my--- I mean---"

"It's okay, Hope, really," Lucio smiled. "I'm just glad you're alright,"

I giggled nervously, tucking a lock of my hair behind my head. "Yeah..." 


	19. Authors Note: Ko-fi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quick little announcement! New update currently in works!

Hi everyone!  
  
For those of you who don't know, I created a ko-fi account. It's where people go to donate money to online creators if they enjoy viewing and would like to further support their content, such as fanfiction, fanart, and much more!  
  
I decided to create one because I've been having the worst luck with getting a job, and I could really use the extra cash for the summer and the rest of my college years, so I thought why not try to earn some money by doing the thing I love?  
  
It's simple really, if you enjoy reading my works and are comfortable, you may make a $3 or higher donation to help support me and my online work. I can't thank you all enough for the love and support you have given me thus far for the past while I've been on this website. Watch Over Me is nearing 11K on Wattpad and 1K here on AO3, your love for this story is what drives me to keep writing. I wouldn't trade it for the world <3

If you are interested and feeling generous, click the button below and it will take you to my kofi page. Thank you all again for your support <3 

 

[Buy Me a Coffee](https://ko-fi.com/A0052487)


	20. Numbani

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and the others recover after the plane crash scare, and quickly learn that the events that occured in Numbani and Russia were just the tipping point of something big that was on the verge of breakthrough...

Lucio, Genji, and I followed Orisa, who dragged Junkrat and Roadhog in cuffs from behind, just outside of the gorge to find a squad of Numbani Special Forces. With them was a little girl who smiled brightly at the centaur robot, congratulating her on a job well done. I immediately realized it was Efi, the girl that Lucio mentioned earlier today during one of our video chats! Knowing her talents, Efi must have built Orisa herself.

"Thanks again for your help, Efi," Lucio thanked as we neared the girl, the DJ shaking her hand. "Orisa was a great help in finding our friend,"

"I'm just glad she is alright," The 11 year old sighed with relief, her friend hand over her chest as she looked over at me. "Are you well, Miss--?"

"Ivery, Hope Ivery," I greeted with a warm smile as I shook her hand. "Lucio is right, thank you so much for your help. Both of you,"

"Orisa did all of the heavy lifting," she giggled. "All I did was point her in the right direction,"

"Efi, I don't recall doing any  _heavy lifting_ ," Orisa piped in, handing the two Junkers over to the Special Forces.

Efi laughed as her eyes twinkled with delight. "Oh, Orisa, it's just an expression,"

"Ah, I see..." Orisa's optics clicked.

I couldn't help but chuckle as the officers took Junkrat and Roadhog away, Orisa mumbling to herself to look up the definition for  _expression_. Upon doing so however, I felt a quick shot of pain in my back, causing me to hiss. The two men standing either side of me sensed my discomfort as Genji placed a steady hand on my shoulder whilst Lucio gently glided his hand along my back.

"Are you okay, Hope?" the DJ asked with concern.

"It's my back," I groaned. "And possibly everything else in my body that's wrong with me,"

Scanning my form, Lucio noticed the dried up blood stains along my forehead, gently patting and feeling along the strands of my hair until he found the bleeding point of the injury. He then carefully, before waiting for me to acknowledge permission, took off the jacket Angela loaned me to see bruises forming along my left arm, the bandages Angela placed upon me back in Eichenwalde beginning to slack and wear down. It didn't take a highly trained doctor to know that my other arm and back, and quite possibly my butt (from Roadhog dropping me), had bruises as well.

"We need to get you to a hospital, like now," Lucio stated. "My suit and amplifier can only heal so much of your wounds."

"Is there an ambulance here?" Genji called. 

One of the officers pointed on out as paramedics came to their location, assisting the cyborg and DJ with escorting me to the vehicle. Orisa stuck her hand out towards the other officers, signalling them to stop as her optics turned red. Then she looked over at us as her optics turned green, signalling us to walk.

The medics helped me into the vehicle, setting me down on the stretcher before Lucio and Genji climbed into the side seats as the doctors scrambled into the driver and passenger seat, driving their way out of the gorge.

*******

It was quite the drive back to the city of Numbani, and even more so to the local hospital. Winston was there too! I hadn't seen him at all since I first woke up, I was beginning to worry about his fate on the drive back. It looked like Genji had found him before Junkrat and Roadhog arrived. The cyborg ninja pulled the gorilla to safety where the duo were shortly found by the Numbani Special Forces, led by Lucio, Efi, and Orisa.

The first split second I caught sight of the gorilla, I shoved my way out of the medic's hold on me and bear hugged the scientist. His delighted laugh filled my ears as he returned the gesture, glad to know that I was okay too. He was a bit banged up, a big bruise plastered on his face, but other than that he was alive and well.

The nurses kind of had to pry me away from Winston, worried that I may have injured myself further from moving so quickly. It was a bit embarrassing to a extent, but I couldn't help myself, I was so overjoyed see him.

The nurses prescribed some painkillers as they worked on cleaning up the dried up blood off my face and tended to my wombs, replacing the old bandages Angela put on me earlier today with fresh new ones. One of them was even kind enough to wash my clothes and Angela's jacket. Now they looked brand new!

Once I was taken care of, I regrouped with the others who were out waiting for me in the waiting room near the lobby.

"Miss Ivery, it is good to see that you are alright,"

With them was a representative of the Numbani Special Forces, who invited us to come along with them to partake in the Junkers interrogation.

"You know my name?" I asked the man. 

I may have been overthinking this. Winston probably just told the guy what my name was while he and the others were waiting for me to be finished with my treatment. But what he spoke in reply, was something I was totally not ready for.

"I knew your grandfather, Jeffery," he answered.

I froze. How was it that this random police officer in Numbani knew my grandfather?!

"You did?" I pressed on.

"Yes, he. . ." The man began to speak but paused for a brief moment, as if he was trying to choose his words carefully. "He helped my family overcome some dark times. My father was a minister in a small village not too far from here, and they often wrote to one another. My humblest condolences to his passing. He was a good man."

". . . Thank you," I nodded my head respectively.

"The resemblance is uncanny," he realized, a small smile appearing on his lips. "You look just like his wife, Bethany,"

That's the second time someone has told me that. First Reinhardt, and now this stranger? What kind of bonds has my grandfather created? And how many?

A made a mental note in my head. One day I'll have to speak to Reinhardt about his relationship towards my grandparents.

A rough cough caught my attention as I steered away from my thoughts. Winston stepped forward, nodding to the guard. "I believe it is time that we were off?"

"Yes, of course," the man shook his head apologetically. "Please, follow me,"

As we walked, I felt a hand come upon my shoulder as I glanced over to see Lucio walking beside me. "You alright, Hope? You got all quiet all of a sudden back there,"

I cleared my throat, hand upon my chest as I shook the feeling away, smiling assuringly at the Freedom Fighter. "I'm fine, I was just thinking."

Their headquarters was a huge building just outside the city, overtaking archers of their own private land used for anything from training grounds and weapons storage. It kind of reminded me of how I was the Overwatch headquarters in Switzerland. I've seen pictures of it on TV and across the internet, but this place, while quite breathtaking, wasn't even as close as a marvel to the international organization.

We bypassed security as we maneuvered the halls of their HQ. We passed by their training room, overlooking the facility through a giant glass window as Orisa fired at a few practice dummies with her gun after grouping them up all together with her miniature graviton orb.

"Impressive work, Miss Oladele," The captain complimented the child. "But if I may, how will Orisa deal with incoming enemies? Perhaps ones that are more her size?"

"Allow us to demonstrate, Captain," The girl chirped as she signaled Orisa to get into position. She then looked over to the side, waving at someone to come over. I turned my head in the direction she was waving at, and to my surprise, I saw a very familiar old man dressed up in his armour, hammer at hand. "Are you ready, Mr. Reinhardt?!" 

"Ready when you are, Lady Efi," The German exclaimed, pounding his fist against the metal chest plate of his armour.

"What's Reinhardt doing down there?" Lucio questioned with surprise, stepping forward in order to get a better look of the scene.

"While you were recovering, we've asked Miss Oladele to demonstrate the abilities of her newest invention. Your comrade volunteered to assist in the showcase," our guide explained. "Our captain believes it could prove to be a great ally towards our ranks."

We watched as Orisa and Reinhardt got into position, staring down at each other just a few feet apart from each other. Reinhardt bent his knees, and suddenly fire spiked out of his back! There was some sort of thrust mechanism inside his suit, because the blast made him shoot forward like a rocket. He charged straight for Orisa, and I first I actually thought he was going to pin her. I've seen similar scenarios of this when I researching Germany's Crusaders Guild for a history report back in middle school once. They hit you like a flood as you go flying and then it's lights out. Anyways, that's what I thought would happen to Orisa, but as Reinhardt drew closer and closer with each passing milsecond--!

"Stop!" Orisa shouted as she clutched her fist and her metal plating suddenly shifted and transformed into a golden material. She was like a gold statue. Reinhardt made contact, and instead of sending the robot flying back against the other side of the room, the man crashed and toppled to the floor back first, dropping his hammer.

Lucio, Genji, Winston, and I winched at the impact, the DJ making a hissing sound with his tongue. He acted as though he could feel Reinhardt's pain. "That's got to hurt,"

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked with concern.

Reinahrdt huffed as he slowly pushed his upper body up from the floor. He removed his helmet, shaking his head as his white hair tasseled against his face before he placed a hand on the side of his head. "I'll feel that in the morning,"

Winston smirked, glancing over in my direction. "I think he'll be fine,"

Orisa offered her hand as he helped the Crusader up to his feet, the Captain and other members of the forces that were also in the room applauded the display, seeming to approve Orisa's abilities.

"It appears Numbani has a new guardian," the guide spoke before motioning his head back. "Come, we must keep moving,"

Taking one more glance at Reinhardt, my friends and I continued to follow our guide back down the hall. At the end there were a set of automatic doors, upon entry we found the interrogation room. Behind a bullet proof glass, Junkrat and Roadhog were handcuffed to a table, and if seeing Reinhardt back there was surprising enough, inside with them I saw holographic projections of Hanzo and Jesse!

"What the--?" I stepped back, my eyes widening. "How did---"

"Our country's representative of the UN reached out to the organization. Since the Junkers shot down your plane, he felt Overwatch should be a part of the interrogating process," The guide explained.

". . . Technically the plane belonged to Volskaya Industries," Genji clarified.

I stepped closer to the glass so I could listen in better on the conversation going on between the two pairs.

"The Junkers have committed similar crimes all over the world. They're wanted in several countries for robbery, attempted murder, first degree murder. . . Not a clean slate in sight," The guide explained. "The younger one, calls himself  _Junkrat_. Word on the street is that he found some sort of treasure, supposedly priceless beyond compare. Bounty hunters, gang leaders, and opportunists alike are constantly seeking him out to locate it, and all Mr. Santos had to do was hit him with a . . . sonic amplifier, was it?"

"Partially true, sir," Lucio nodded. "In his defense, Genji did ware the guy down with his spirit dragon,"

"Uh, pardon?" The guide raised a brow, seeming confused.

I shrugged at the man in uniform. "Long story, might be a tad complicated to explain," 

Focusing my attention back to the Junkers interrogation, I watched Hanzo's projection circled them like a shark, peering his eyes towards Junkrat. "Where did you hide your treasure? You could hardly have it on your person,"

"Treasure?!" The skinny man laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head (or tried to at least) as the shackles of his cuffs dangled against each other, making a chattering noise. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about, mate. . ."

Jesse's hologram was leaning against a wall, arms crossed against his chest as he tilted his head up from glancing down at the floor as he let Hanzo have his turn at the Junkers. "Oh really?" He flexed his hand, and a digital image of the Junkers wanted posters appeared. Both Junkers were wanted dead or alive for $25,000,000 each. With a sinister grin that would anyone's skin crawl, the cowboy chuckled as he pulled himself up from the wall, eyeing the reward with such a desired look in his eye. "There's a nice reward for bringing you fellas in,"

"Quite the sum of money for a pair of Junkers," Hanzo grunted. 

That seemed to catch Junkrat's attention as he shook his hands wildly, gaining the interrogators attention. "Hold on! Maybe we can work something out, alright?"

I smirked at the sight. Looks like they were starting to crack them. Well, one of them anyways. His big friend, Roadhog, stayed silent through the entire ordeal. I guess it wasn't exactly odd. He didn't seem to talk all that much when she first met them back at the gorge.

"Let's move on for now, shall we?" The guide suggested. "It's time I showed you all the real reason why you are here,"

"Wait, you mean we're not here to see Junkrat and his buddy?" I questioned.

The man shook his head as he motioned us forward, leading us towards another door. "The actual reason you are here, is to help us regarding Doomfist's escape from prison earlier this morning,"

Passing through the doors, we entered what appeared to be some sort of monitoring room. The room was dimly lit. There were a series of computer screens hanging up on the wall as a woman on a keyboard kept tabs on everything that was going on throughout the city.

"Kairi, bring up the surveillance footage from the prison loading bay," the man ordered.

"I thought all the security cameras were shut down after the EMP went off?" Lucio recalled.

"That's what we thought as well," the woman spoke as she furiously typed away at her keyboard. "But it appears one camera managed to survive the hack, and it gave us this footage,"

The feed enlarged as the security cam showed off the loading courtyard of the prison. Just off in the distance was a dark jet, identical to the one I saw in London that Widowmaker took off in after her fight with Tracer. The feed suddenly shook as a muffled rumble came from within the walls of the prison.

Then  **KRA-THOOM!**

A giant hole broke out into the wall as dust and broken up ash of the concrete wall filtered everywhere. When the dust cleared, a tall muscular, dark skinned man emerged. He wore a white tank top with a matching pair of sweat pants as he flexed his right hand to check for any sign of injury.

My eyes widened at the sight. Did he really just punch his way out of prison?!

_"You're late," Reaper growled, two bodies lay dead near his feet._

_"I was delayed," Doomfist replied as he neared the black cloaked killer before making his way up the ramp of the jet. "Let's get going,"_

The feed ended with the pair entering the jet as the ramp pulled itself shut behind them and the jet took off before any more guards could catch them.

"Did he seriously just punch his way out of prison?" I repeated, this time speaking aloud.

"Yes, yes he did," Lucio gulped.

"Akande is powerful enough with his martial art skills. But with the gauntlet, he has the power to level entire buildings," Winston elaborated.

"Dang..." I gasped.

"Could you possibly pin-point where they went?" Genji questioned the woman at the computer.

She shook her head in dismay. "I'm afraid not. There was cloaking technology equipped within the hull of the ship. We couldn't pick up it's signal," Kairi typed in a command, a map appearing on screen with an arrow pointing up in a certain direction. "All that we know is that the Talon jet headed in a North-Eastern direction upon take off. They could be anywhere!"

"Europe tends to be a hotspot for Talon," Winston recalled. "They could have retreated to anywhere in the European Hemisphere,"

"The question is; Where?" Lucio question, studying the map as if the answer was somewhere right in front of him.

Suddenly the map on screen began to drizzle out and it vanished completely, the image replaced with a static screen.

"What's happening?!" The guide yelped.

"Sir, it appears our system has been hacked by an outside party," Kairi explained, typing furiously to get the system back on her side again.

Her log in attempts failed and soon the screen went black. Darkness quickly filled the room as my body tensed, waiting for something to happen. A purple logo flashed into the screen. I knew that logo.

"It's the skull from the Sombra Protocol--!" I realized.

A blinking indicator appeared and it began moving horizontally to the right, purple text taking form.

**"Enjoy the movie?"**

Movie? What movie?!

"Whoever, or whatever is thing is, it's completely taken over our computer system," said Kairi.

"Is she... referring to the surveillance camera footage from the prison?" I questioned a loud.

There was a sudden beep coming from below me. I looked down at my wrist to see that my communicator was blinking. I lifted it up to my face as Winston and the others crowded around me. Tapping the screen, the same purple texted appeared, forming a single sentence.

**"Isn't it obvious?"**

Okay, now this was getting creepy. We all glanced at each other before looking back at the computer screen.

"I think it's talking to you, Hope," Lucio suspected.

The blinking indicator on the computer screen zipped back to the left, deleting its first sentence and replacing it with a new one.

**"Wow, handsome and smart. Aren't you the total package."**

"Uh... thanks?" Lucio replied awkwardly. He wasn't sure if he should be aroused or crept out that a hacker or something else complimented him like that.

I slowly moved away from my friends, stepping closer towards the computer as I met Kairi's gaze. "May I. . . ?"

Her eyes lit up as she quickly nodded her head before standing up from her chair, stepping aside as she allowed me to sit down. I honestly wasn't sure what I was suppose to do. Talk to the program? And about what? This was all happening so quickly and so out of nowhere, it was a little hard for me to take it all in.

The indicator erased the previous sentence, and began typing a new one.

**"I know you found my protocol."**

". . . How did you figure that?"

**"Once you decrypted my first message, it instantly notified me. I've been keeping tabs on your progress ever since. I hate to admit it, but you're not half bad. Well, not the best anyway,"**

"Why did you even put your protocol into Reaper's drive in the first place? It contains data on present and future Talon missions that we could just jeopardize!"

**"You got lucky at the museum, but you didn't jeopardize the last two missions. This time around you were one step behind us. Better luck next time."**

"Is this some sort of game to you? You and your organization are putting hundreds upon thousands of innocent lives at risk. Does causing that amount of destruction not bother you at all?" I growled. This thing was really starting to annoy me. "We may be behind you guys right now, but sooner or later, we will catch up to you guys and put an end to your crimes for good!"

There was a moment of pause before the indicator revealed a new message.

**"Are you done talking?"**

I was completely taken back by the response. That was just plain rude!

**"I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm not going to. . . "**

The indicator paused once again and just as I could feel my blood beginning to boil, the message kept on growing.

**"I'll leave you with this. . . Talon is gearing up for something up, and they've got plans for every single one of you."**

"What kind of plans?" I asked, trying my best to keep calm.

**"Let me put it this way. . . Everything can be hacked, and everyone,"**

"Everything?" Winston repeated.

**"Adios. . ."**

Just like that, the Sombra skull fizzled out of existence and the European map came back online as the room lights flickered back on. My communicator beeped once more as I looked down at the screen to see that the Protocol had left one more message just for me.

**"Clock's ticking, Ivery,"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, so, so, so, so, sorry this chapter took so long! I was on summer vacation and I was going through a foggy cloud of writers block for a short while. But I'm back, and hope to have the next update ready way sooner than this one, that's for sure xD Hope you liked it!


	21. Jeffery Ivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time we shed some light about Hope Ivery's family and discover some hidden secrets that are yet to be revealed!

The moon shines brightly over the spectacularly crafted mansion in Venice, Italy. Golden marble flooring, walls, and roof shine in the long and well lit hall as two men made their way down. Disguised in masquerade costumes, they slipped past the party that was taking place, and dealt with Vialli, a former member of their organization who tried to take their plans in a new and "improved" direction, before attending a long awaited meeting.

Doomfist wore a purple 17th century British Royal guard suit, with white fake feathers along the rim of his cape, vest, a matching sailors hat and a white mask that covered his face, all but revealing his eyes and lips. Reaper sported a bright Red Italian renaissance attire with a skull mask over his head. His duel shotguns were strapped to his thighs, hiding under his long cape that matched his suit.

They passed a set of brass doors to led to a hidden elevator. Stepping inside, the doors closed behind them upon enter, and began to sink down deeper into the lower basement of the mansion. The lift chimed as the doors flew upon, revealing a secret hallway. Wooden flooring, brick walls, statues of men and woman from different cultures and time periods of previous leaders of their organization.

Large wooden doors awaited them at the other side as they pushed onward, entering a dimly lit room. In the centre was an oval shaped table. 7 seats were filled, 6 men and 1 Omnic, 9 seats remained empty. The two council members stalked into the room, Reaper taking the seat next to a spiky brown haired man and a man with brushed back red haired and terrifying clown face paint. Doomfist took a seat next to the Omnic, and across from the shadow assassin.

Doomfist reached up, removing his hat from his head before locking his gaze onto the other members of Talon.

"We have a war to start,"

Two of the men nodded as they stood up from their seats, walking over to another set of doors hidden to the far side of the room. They pulled them open, and a elderly woman stepped forward. She looked to be in her 60's, though at a first glance you would think she looked younger than that considering her smooth and radiant skin, fierce eye shadow and mascara, and taunting red lips. But hidden underneath was a cruel and masterful being with green eyes that stared into your soul. If looks could kill, that was it. She wore her grey hair in a bun, and she wore a black dress down to her knees, with a matching dress jacket with the Talon symbol embedded over her heart, and high heels.

The woman turned her head as she scanned the attendees as they stood to attention, and her lips brightened to a evilly, delighted smile when she locked eyes with the Numbani antagonist, and former student to Akinjide Adeyemi, the second Doomfist.

"Akande, darling!" She greeted, waltzing towards him.

Akande smirked as he stepped aside from his hair, "It is good to finally set eyes on you again, Director Agrippa," The woman extended her hand towards him as he took it with upmost care, planting a kiss upon her knuckles. "May I say that you are looking as radiant as ever,"

Agrippa chuckled as she retracted her hand, waving the man off. "Oh, pis posh, you're just saying that. . .," The pair fare-welled before Agrippa returned to meet her escorts who pulled out a chair for her. As she took her seat, everyone else followed.  "What news do you have to report? The status of Vialli and his men?"

"We took care of them upon our arrival, Director," Reaper confirmed, tapping his finger nails against the table.

"Good, good," she acknowledged. "And what are the whereabouts on the rest of your team?"

"Sombra and Widowmaker are on surveillance, and are making sure our meeting goes uninterrupted," he answered.

"Excellent," Agrippa grinned. "Lets get straight to it then. Vialli's mission in attempting to assassinate the CEO of Volskaya Industries has set back our original plans."

"With the media focusing much of their attention to the events in that region, we should be able to slip under their radar," the Omnic, Maximilian spoke. 

"Agreed," Akande nodded his head. "She is more useful to use alive, and will be able to keep the fighting of the current Omnic Crisis in Russia going. Sombra would agree, correct?" Doomfist glanced over at Reaper, enlightening the ghost to speak.

"To my understanding, Sombra was the one who made it inside Mrs. Volskaya's office. . . She was the reason Vialli's mission failed?" The Director questioned with a perk of curiosity.

"She thinks she's clever, but I've been on to her for the last while now," Reaper explained. "She's been up to some extracurricular activities. She implanted jigsawed copies of various Talon operations as a fail safe to keep Overwatch occupied, whilst at the same time it exposes what we're doing!"

"Hmm. . . She sure is  _ambitious_ , to say the least. She still seems to be cooperating with us, so I suppose I can let this inch of freedom for her slide. May I suggest putting a tighter lease on her?"

". . . Understood," h acknowledged. 

"Any results?" Agrippa pressed on.

"Some, yes. . . The protocol is slowly but surely extracted Agent's locations one by one in order to avoid detection from that monkey's Athena Program." Reaper continued.

"However, Morrison and Amari still remain at large," Akande stepped in, side glaring at the assassin before turning his full attention towards him as he spoke to the director. "But Reaper has assured me that he is not feeling any sign of sentiment towards them,"

He couldn't see it with his mask covering his face, but Akande could tell that Reaper was exchanging a glare right back at him.

"Unlike Mondatta," Agrippa added, nodding over towards Reaper. "Give my regards to Agent Lacriox on her successful run," 

"With him gone, tensions between humans and Omnics are starting to escalate again," The assassin explained. "Not as much as the Uprising a few years ago, but it's a start, enough to add more heat to the flame in Russia."

"Vialli's mission was a unnecessary setback, and we need to get back on track if we want our war to progress," The Director stated. "Speaking of loose ends, Reaper, what's the status of the Agent Database so far?"

"Other than  **those two** , I've already taken a few names off the list," He answered.

"Axel," Agrippa looked over at the red haired man. "Any progress on extracting another GOD program? I've heard of the incident that occurred in the Temple of Anubis. . ."

As the pair conversed upon themselves, Reaper felt something vibrate in his pocket. He reached down and pulled his phone out, unlocking the screen as a message appeared. A purple skull icon appeared next to the text.

**"Did you tell her about that Ivery girl yet, Gabe?"**

"Right," he muttered quietly to himself. Feeling as if he was being watched, he glanced over to see that Akande was still watching him. He nodded over at the Nigerian, " _Its time,_ "

Akande acknowledged his request as he turned his attention to Director Agrippa who had finished her conversation with Axel. "Director?"

"What is it?" She asked.

"There has been a recent development," he answered, turning over to Reaper to continue the discussion.

"Back to the Sombra Protocol, we've discovered who is working on decoding the fail safe," the assassin explained. "It's not Winston, who we originally intended it to be,"

"Well, out with it then, who is it?" the elderly woman demanded.

Surprised by his responding action, Agrippa raised a brow at the assassin as he stood up from his chair and proceeded to walk around the table and towards her chair. He shoved the councilman next to her out of his way and away from earshot before leaning forward and whispering a name in her ear.

The woman froze, turning her head to look at him through the eyes. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Sombra confirmed it earlier today,"

Agrippa sat there for a moment, her head tilted to the side as she gathered her thoughts. She snapped her fingers, signalling everyone to attention. "Reaper, Akande, remain here. Everyone else is dismissed for the night,"

There was a brief moment of confusing before one by one, each member of Talon's councilmen got up from their seats and left the room. Once the room was empty, and only the three of them remained, Agrippa stood up, making her way back to the set of doors she went though, signalling the two men to follow her.

They complied as Akande caught up with them before they followed Agrippa out of the meeting room and into another hallway. 

"All this time, they thought they could escape their true destinies," Agrippa chide with a grin.

"Is it really her? One of Joseph's offspring's?" Akande questioned.

Reaper nodded in confirmation. "She's Jeffery Ivery's granddaughter,"

"It was clever of them to run after Jeffery's death, I underestimated his sons skills," Agrippa went on, narrowing her eyes. "A mistake I will never make again once I find them,"

"Once Sombra confirmed her ID, I realized that I had seen her before," Reaper spoke up.

"Oh?" Agrippa raised a brow at the assassin.

"She was at the Numbani Museum. She most likely cracked one of Sombra's puzzles, realizing that we were going to steal Akande's gauntlet and sent Overwatch to intervene," Reaper explained. "She may possibly be on to Sombra and knows she created the Protocol,"

"Miss Ivery was demanding answers on why Sombra included information on Talon's operations in Reaper's drive when he attempted to steal the Overwatch Agent Database," Akande added.

"Sticking her nose into other people's business and attempting to stop us?" Agrippa chuckled. "She's just like her grandfather, despite how annoying that was,"

"If she has surfaced and is conspiring with the newly recalled Overwatch, perhaps her brother is close by?" Akande speculated.

"Ah yes, Jeffery's grandson," She recalled. "He was only a itty bitty baby when Joseph and his wife got away from me,"

"If the Ivery's are coming back and are siding with Overwatch, perhaps it's time to consider restarting Project: Disciple?" Reaper suggested.

"Ah, I'm on board for that," Doomfist smirked. "It has been far too long,"

Agrippa reached out, taking the men's shoulders as they entered the underground garage where a limo was waiting for them. "Patience boys, all good things comes to those wait," The driver stepped out of the driver's side before making his way over to open the passenger door for the Director. She stepped in front of the two Talon agents, turning to face them. "I must commend you both for your work thus far. In the meantime, watch and study her, her behavior, and how she handles herself more in a fight."

"So Project: Disciple isn't completely lost?" Doomfist questioned.

"We'll need to get everything set up first before we make any big plays, Akande, when the time comes, I will call upon you to bring them in and. . . how you say,  _break in_ our new recruits?" Agrippa advised, a devilish smile on her face.

"I would be honoured, Director," Akande smirked wickedly, kissing upon her hand again in farewell.

Agrippa nodded before looking over to Reaper, "I don't suppose Agent Lacroix would still be willing to offer Chateau Gaillard as a private space for the project?"

"I don't see why not," He shook his head.

"Quite, do let me know what she says," she spoke as she began to make her way to the limo. "It is a rather nice estate, and I do not wish to have it ruined unintentionally,"

The driver assisted the woman into her seat before shutting the door behind her. She lowered the car door window, glancing over at the pair. "And Reyes?"

"Ma'am?" He called.

"Do have Sombra look into Joseph's son, and monitor his whereabouts as well," She ordered.

"Of course," he nodded.

Agrippa smiled as she reached over, putting on a pair of sunglasses to cover her eyes, "Everybody wants to rule the world, gentlemen. It is paramount that we remain on top,"

*********

After the Sombra Protocol scare at the Numbani Special Forces HQ building, the gang and I were temporarily escorted to a hotel downtown, compliments of the captain, we're we could stay for the night. If things calmed down a bit and Numbani felt as if they could handle the situation on their own, then we'd be free to travel to Eichenwalde tomorrow morning if we wanted to.

We were each given hotel suits. I shared a room with Winston, Genji, and Zenyatta, while Lucio and Reinhardt had the suit across the hall.

I was so caught up in all of this craziness the last little while, I completely forgot that Zenyatta was here in Numbani as well. He had stayed behind with Efi's parents in case something went wrong while everyone else went out to search for Winston, Genji, and I at the gorge.

The one thing out of this trip that gave me goosebumps was the fact that this Sombra Protocol hacker knew who I was. They sent me my last name. What else did they know about me? My school? Where I live? My family?!

Winston was having a video chat with Angela at a desk near the balcony of our suite, catching her up on what had happened after the Junkers interrogation while Genji and Zenyatta decided to do some meditation together. I decided to join them to try and shake off my paranoid thoughts. It seemed to work for a while, and I managed to stop thinking about the Sombra Protocol for the time being. Although, I was having a little trouble focusing because my mind had drifted off to a different topic.

I just couldn't get that moment out of my mind. The representative of the Numbani Special Forces we met back at the hospital yesterday. . . he knew my grandfather? I'm sure I would have recognized him in a photo somewhere. I used to sneak a peek at an old photo album my parents kept holding family photos. A few of them had my grandparents in them, but mostly my grandfather while he was out traveling on his missionary trips and church conferences. He was the pastor of our city's church until he. . . left. Then my uncle took his place shortly after that.

But not seeing a photo of that guy kinda had me on edge a little bit. I knew what my grandfather did for a living, but my parents seemed to keep their mouths quiet on what exactly he did and where he did it. Especially my grandmother, as I've heard little to nothing about her. All I knew was that her name was Bethany, she was happily married to Jeffery, and according to Reinhardt, I'm a spitting image of her.

Wait a minute. . . Reinhardt!

He was a family friend of my grandparents! He was there when my dad was a baby, for goodness sake! Surely he could tell me something, right?

I was so caught up in my thoughts, that I didn't realize that Zenyatta was staring at me.

"Miss Ivery?"

I snapped my eyes open, darting them towards the Omnic monk. "Yes?" I answered a tad too quickly.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit tense," He replied with concern.

"I, uh. . ." My eyes wandered about the room, glancing over at Genji who was in his meditating position, sitting cross-legged, his left fist curled up hovering over his chest, his index and middle finger uncurled and stuck together.

For some reason it reminded me of the "Two finger Disney point" the employees do at the Disney parks when they're directing you somewhere, because apparently pointing with one finger was considered rude.

"I guess I'm just a little too fidgety for meditation," I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "I don't know how you guys can do it for so long,"

"It takes much practice, yes," Zenyatta nodded his head. "Though I imagine that is only part of the reason that you are unable to focus."

I sighed, shaking my head. I wasn't going to get anything passed this Omnic, was I? "I've been thinking about my grandparents. . . Reinhardt used to be friends with them, so I kind of want to go ask him what he knew,"

"Then why don't you?" Zenyatta suggested.

". . . You know what? Maybe I will! I think it's time I learned a bit more about my family," I concluded before looking over at the Omnic. "May I please be excused, Zenyatta?"

"Of course," He bowed his head respectively.

I stood up from my sitting position with a smile, thanking the Omnic for the meditation session. With us meditating in the bedroom of the suit, I walked out into the main room, spotting Winston still over by the desk. It looked like he was done chatting with Angela, so he was just getting some work done.

I made my way over towards the front door and just as I was reaching for the handle--!

"Where are you off to?" Winston spoke up.

I jumped, the sound of his voice startling me. "Oh! I was, uh, just going to go down the hall and see what Reinhardt and Lucio were up to,"

"Alright, don't wander off too far," he replied.

"No problem!" I waved, pulling the door open as I left the suite.

I felt a knot in my stomach as I proceeded down the hall. I didn't felt all that pleasant, lying to Winston like that. But for both times, whenever a conversation about my grandparents came up, and he was in the same room, he would always butt in for some reason and change the subject.

Does he know something that I don't?

Coming towards the door, I knocked on the hard wood. "Anyone home?"

"Come on in, Hope!" Lucio's voice rang. 

I pushed on the handle and the door opened for me. Stepping inside, I looked around to see that they had the exactly same suite, just mirrored so that everything that was on the left side, was now on the right side. Lucio was chilling on the sofa, messing around with his holographic soundboard, faint musical beats could be heard from his headset as I walked closer towards him.

He leaned his head back against the cousin, spotting me as a bright smile formed on his lips. "Hey!" The DJ greeted, pushing the holograms aside with his powered up gloves as he waved me over. "How've you been?"

"I'm okay, you?" I asked, taking the seat next to him.

"To be honest? A bit spooked, after what happened at Numbani HQ and all," He spoke honestly. "That last message though, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

During the time, Lucio was the only one to ask me if I was feeling alright as we were leaving the HQ of the Special Forces. I showed him the hacker's last message to me on my communicator and he seemed tense, almost concerned for me.

"I'm a little spooked myself, so I guess we're on the same boat then," I chuckled nervously, tucking a lock out of my hair.

". . . Hey, Hope?" Lucio spoke up after a moments pause.

"Yes?" I asked, looking up to meet his gaze.

"Do you consider me a friend?" He asked.

My eyes widened, surprised by the question. "Why would you ask me that? We're working together on the Protocol, so why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," Lucio waved his hand off before sighing, leaning forward as he rested his arms along his legs. "I guess I was just wondering since I've technically only known you for about, what, 3 days?"

"Well 2 days, since literally the firs moment you met me, I fell asleep from being lost out in the forest during a bad rain storm," I corrected.

The man laughed, shaking his head. "How could I forget?"

"I consider you my friend, Lucio---"

_OMG I literally just said that to THE Lucio, I'M FRIENDS WITH LUCIO!!! . . . Okay, calm down, this is serious!_

"--- Why would you think otherwise?" I asked.

"Well, when your plane crashed and I lost contact with you, I. . . I got really worried," he spoke openly, a hint of sadness coursing through his eyes as he stared at me. "I didn't want to think it, but for a moment I thought you were---"

"Dead?" I finished quietly.

He coughed, composing himself. "Yeah. . ."

I curled up my fingers into fists, looking off into the distance for a moment as I tried to word out what to say next. Lucio was that worried about me? I may have been a fan of his for a long time, though my time of actually knowing and interacting with him has been brief thus far, he is just one of the kindest and most caring person I've never seen.

"Well. . . Then as your friend, I promise to not try and scare you like that ever again,"

He smiled, raising a brow in my direction as he crossed his arms. "Keeping in mind who you currently work for for a living?"

_He got me there..._

I shrugged, a giggled crackling from my throats as I struggled to speak. "I'll still try!"

He chuckled in reply as he uncrossed his arms and reached out to place a hand on my shoulder. "I'll hold you to that,"

We both shared one more laugh before my eyes finally locked on to his gesture. My cheeks began to shade a light pink as Lucio noticed his hand lingering. He quickly pulled away, rubbing the back of his head anxiously.

"Oh! Sorry--"

"No, no, it's totally fine," I reassured him.  

Although upon looking at him I couldn't help but notice a tiny smile lingering on his lips, and his cheeks were small shade of red. Did my reaction to his touch make him feel like he was doing something wrong?

Before I could get the chance to ask him, he coughed while shaking his head. "Anyway," he glanced back over at me. "What brings you by?"

"Hmm? Oh, right!" I smacked my forehead, cursing to myself for forgetting why I came here. "Is Reinhardt here?"

"He went down stairs to pick up some food. I could ask him to bring you something if you'd like?" He offered.

"Oh, I'm fine for now," I replied. "I was actually going to ask him a. . . family related question,"

"Wait, you guys are related?" He questioned with surprise.

"No, he was a family friend to my grandparents, mostly my grandfather," I corrected.

"Oh yeah, that guy at the hospital mentioned that. . . Jeffery, right?" He recalled.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask him what he knew about them," I explained. "My parents won't really tell me anything about them, and I have no idea why. All I know is that their death had something to do with a fight between Overwatch and a terrorist attack,"

"Have you tried googling them?" Lucio suggested as he brought up a holographic screen displaying the famous search website.

I sighed, shuffling closer to the DJ. "I have, and it turns out there's quite a few Jeffery Ivery's in the world,"

"Well, it's been a while since you last checked, right?" Lucio speculated before cracking his knuckles as a digital keyboard appeared above his knees. "Let's take another look,"

"I---I guess it wouldn't hurt,"

"Alright," Lucio cleared his throat as he typed in his name. "Jeffery. . . Ivery. . . search!"

The loading icon surfaced before revealing all of the hits that it found. Going through the lists, Lucio clicked on a few links and the tabs appeared in separate tabs and screens. Photos and news articles of Jeffery attending conferences, highlights of his speeches and services.

"I've already seen all of this before," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "I have some of these photos as hard copies in my parents photo album,"

"Okay, well you said them leaving had something to do with Overwatch, right?" He reminded. "Maybe we should try something added that keyword, and maybe look at more recent results too,"

"I've never tried that, actually," I slowly realized, kinda wishing I'd done it sooner.

"Let's take a look, then," Lucio changed up the search key and adjusted the time of posting before hitting the search button.

A couple links popped up, but there was one that really caught my attention. "Wait, what's that one?"

The title of the link was called " **Celebrate the legacy of Jeffery Ivery and his collaborations with Overwatch** ".

Now I really wish I had done this search sooner.

Lucio clicked the link, and it appeared that the website was advertising a Church Conference, and one of the panels was honouring her grandfather. . .

". . . Religious Relations Officer - Agent Jeffery Ivery. On this day, 45 years ago today, Pastor Jeffery Ivery was chosen by Canadian Arch Bishop McDonald to represent the Christian faith as an Overwatch agent to participate in their Religious Relations program," Lucio read a paragraph before pointing one out for me to read.

"We will remember his greatest achievements whilst working with the organization, protecting those against forces who claim they perform their evil deeds in the name of their religion. . ." I continued.

"Protect them from people like. . . Isis? When they were around years ago?" Lucio made an educated guess.

He looked over at me to see that my face was glued on to the screen. At the bottom of the page was a group photo with a young Jeffery Ivery, standing side by side with a younger version of Reinhardt, Captain Ana Amari, Strike Commander Jack Morrison, and Blackwatch Commander Gaberial Reyes. They all wore matching Overwatch uniforms. 

There was a loud  **CRASH** as Lucio and I whipped our heads round to see Reinhardt standing near the couch, his bags of food toppled on the floor as his mouth was gaped open.

"Where did you find that?" He asked us.

"We googled it!" Lucio yelped, raising his hands up in defence.

"Reinhardt, what is this?" I asked the old man as calmly as humanly possible.

He struggled to form words as he fiddled with his hands. "Well, you see.. Uh-- I, um,"

I stood up for my spot next to Lucio who tried to reach out towards me but I was too quick for him to catch me. I stood face to face with Reinhardt, looking at him square in the eye.

"Tell me the truth, please. . ." I begged, my voice sounding like it was going to quiver. 

Seeing the look on my face, Reinhardt's shoulders slacked as his facial expression sulked. The German was a tall man for his age, so he lowered himself to get down on one knee in order to meet me on a more appropriate eye level, gently placing his hands on my shoulders. "Go a head,"

I breathed in, shutting my eyes to calm myself down as I could hear Lucio slowly coming up towards us from behind me, unsure of what exactly to do.

I opened my eyes again, looking at the Crusader. "Jeffery Ivery, my grandfather. . . was he an Overwatch agent?"

Reinhardt didn't even need to say a single word. He nodded his head, and as if he knew how I would react, he pulled me into an embrace as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and cried in the crock of his neck. 


	22. Agent Jeffery Ivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope finally learns of her family's history with Overwatch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There is a flashback sequence in this chapter. Just a side note regarding the date that will be listed in it--- my fanfic will end up altering the lore timeline a little bit. I tried to keep it as close to the original timeline as possible, but my creative juices got the better of me. Hope this is still okay, and you enjoy the chapter regardless! 
> 
> Also the flashback sequence will be referencing the Strike Team: Phase One comic created by Disteal on Tumblr. They have given me permission to use the comic as a reference for this sequence. I highly recommend checking out her work, they are incredible! 
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy! :D

I'm not sure how long I cried into Reinhardt's shoulder. It wasn't like I was keeping track of the time or anything. I had just learned what could possibly be my family's most deepest and darkest secret of all time. 

My grandfather, Jeffery Ivery, was an agent of Overwatch. He wasn't just some ordinary minister or pastor, either. He traveled the world to protect people and their religious beliefs against evil threats who would try to take it away from them, or what other stuff he did! All I know for now is the stuff that was written in that Church Conference article. 

At some point during my sobs, the German had carefully carried me in his arms back towards the couch, setting me down next to him as he placed a soothing hand along my back. I heard him mumble something to Lucio. Something about fetching Winston. 

 _Great,_ I thought,  _first Reinhardt, then Lucio, and now Winston, my boss and mentor of all people, or gorillas for that matter, is going to see me cry._

I could hear Lucio swiftly setting off to do so, but not before he handed me tissue box. 

I sniffled, wiping my eyes briefly before managing a smile. "Thank you," 

"Hang in there," He smiled warmly in return. "We'll get this all figured out," 

I watched him leave the room as Reinhardt continued to comfort me. I blow'd my nose into the tissue before meeting his face. "So, it's safe to assume that my parents knew about this?"

The old man nodded. "As I mentioned before back when I first met you in Eichenwalde, I've known your father since he was a toddler. He was born just a few years before the first Omnic Crisis began. I spent as much time as I could with the Ivery's before I joined the German Army, and once the Crisis began, I was transferred to the Crusaders, and then soon after that I was invited to join the Overwatch Strike Team. I would receive letters from Jeffery almost constantly, checking on my well being and letting me know how Bethany and your father, Joseph were holding up."

He chuckled for a brief moment as his smile grew, his eye perking up.

"One time he sent me photo of his son's elementary school graduation, AH! You should have seen him in that suit poor Jeffery made him wear, it was hilarious I tell you!"

A tiny smile formed on my lips as I coughed a rough laugh from my throat, still recovering from my little sob episode moments ago. I glanced over at the side, noticing that the group photo from the article was still up. The one of my grandfather posing with Reinhardt, Jack Morrison, Gaberial Reyes, Ana Amari, and the Canadian Arch Bishop when they were celebrating Jeffery's addition into Overwatch. 

"So, you and the original Strike Team were all there when he first joined?" I asked. 

Reinhardt looked over at the photo once more. The first time he saw it was when he walked in on Lucio and I doing some snooping around on the internet. He looked surprised, and completely unprepared for the moment I wouldn't eventually find out about Jeffery. But now that I've calmed down, and that the two of us are finally sitting down and talking about it, he motioned his free hand to bring the holographic picture forward, his smile brightening as he sighed. 

"Ah, yes, I remember that day well," he beamed. "I remember introducing him and Bethany to Jack and the others formally after the award ceremony. If I recall correctly, that was also where your father first met your mother,"

My eyes shot open as I whirled my head away from the photo, peering at the old man. "No way!"

He snickered. "Yes way,"

"What was she doing there?" I asked, my eyes twinkling. 

"She was a intern for a popular online news network in the city, and was assigned with her partner to interview your grandfather on his plans with Overwatch's new Religious Relations program," He explained. "Turns out the two of them attended the same youth group growing up and something clicked between the two of them." 

"Well that part I knew as much, but I had no idea they reunited at my grandfather's promotion into Overwatch!" I gasped in awe, my mind racing. 

"They started seeing each other for a while after that as your father finished college, but once his education finished, I wasn't too sure if their relationship would last. . ." Reinhardt spoke with dismay, recalling the memory.

"What do you mean?" I asked with curiosity.

There was a knock at the door as Reinhardt and I turned around to see Lucio step back into the room, motioning for someone to come inside. Winston followed suit, eyeing the pair on the couch. Hope's heart ached in her chest when she saw his face, wiping her eyes free of any more tears as she began to stand on her feet to properly face him. 

"I'm sorry, Winston, I just really-- I had to--" She stumbled. 

"It's alright," He reassured the girl as he made his way around to the couch. "If anything, I should be the one to apologize. I should have told you all of this sooner," 

"No, I should apologize too. I guess I just got so agitated whenever I felt like you kept dodging the conversation whenever they were brought up, I felt like I had to take matters into my own hands, and I kind of went behind your back in a sense," I explained. 

Winston huffed with despair, taking a seat on the chair across from the sofa. "I don't exactly blame you for feeling that way, Hope," 

Reinhardt coughed into his fist, regaining everyone's attention. "Forgive me, my friend, but I was just explaining to Hope how her parent's met each other at Jeffery's award ceremony. Would you like to continue?"

"Of course," The scientist nodded in acknowledgement before his head over to the DJ. "Lucio, could you give us a few minutes?"

"Sure thing, Winston, I'll just-- ah--" Lucio looked around the room with uncertainty before his face lit up, gathering the dropped bags of food Reinhardt misplaced from the floor. "I'll go put these away,"

The German rubbed the back of his neck, his face flaring slightly with embarrassment. "I almost forgot! I hope everything survived. . ."

"I'll be the judge of that," Lucio teased before motioning his head towards the kitchen in farewell. "I'll check back later,"

The three of us watched as Lucio exited the room before returning our focus to each other. My palms were sweating and I could feel my heart beat quickening. This was finally happening, wasn't it?

"You were saying something about their relationship possibly not progressing after he finished college. . ." The girl recalled. "Why is that?"

"The answer to that question is that once Jeffery join the organizations ranks, he and his wife Bethany were relocated to Overwatch HQ in Switzerland, and your father Joseph ended up going with them," Winston answered. 

"Wait, what?!" I sprang up from my spot on the couch out of pure shock. "My dad lived in the Swiss base too?!"

"He stayed in the residency wing, often babysitting Captain Amari's daughter, Fareeha Amari," Reinhardt explained. "Anyhow, with your father moving into the Swiss base with your grandparents, your mother and father tried a long distance relationship,"

"Though it was a bit hard to call each other and such, given that communications to civilian parties outside the Overwatch bases across the world were strictly tight," Winston added. "They sometimes wouldn't hear from each other for weeks at a time." 

My lips frowned, sighing as my shoulders slouched. "That sounded rough,"

"It was, but somehow, they made it work," Reinhardt nodded his head. "So much in fact that after keeping in touch for 2 years, he invited her to come visit one weekend and that's when he proposed to her,"

"Whoa! So they got married in Switzerland and stuff?!" I was mentally injected with a burst of excitement as I jumped in place, a bright smile on my face. "Cool!!" 

Reinhardt laughed, pulling me back down gently to sit back down on the couch. "Hold your horses, Ivery," 

"I'm sorry, I just got a little excited," I giggled in reply, the smile never leaving my face. 

Winston smiled in approval, glad to see that I was taking all of this information well thus far. "After their honeymoon, your mother moved in with your father and worked as a assistant with Bethany for Jeffery," 

"Everyone must have been pretty close back then, huh?" I commented. 

"Jeffery and your family were good people. They treated everyone they met as if they were family," Reinhardt smiled warmly, however. . .

There was a certain look in his eyes. One filled with. . . sadness, and regret. I gulped, fiddling with my fingers nervously as I tried choosing my words carefully. 

"If you don't mind me asking. . . how did my grandparents, you know?" I began slowly. 

I knew I sliced the growing tension in the room like a knife slicing butter. It was a hard topic to bring up, that was for sure. I just straight up asked them how my grandparents died for crying out loud!

Winston and Reinhardt exchanged looks before nodding their heads in agreement, sighing. "I suppose it was only a matter of time. . ."

"I will tell you this, Hope," Reinhardt began. "Perhaps this part of the conversation is best spoken with your parents. That being said however, I will tell you my side of the story,"

"So, what did happen?" I asked nervously, my fingers forming into fists in my lap as I anxiously awaited his words. 

Reinhardt adjusted his position, sitting more up right. "It started like any other mission. . ."

*****

_Date: May 11th 2048 - 7:30pm local time  
Location: Jerusalem, Israel _

_Strike Team was scheduled to rendezvous with a new contact discovered by Gerard Lacriox. The contact was from a local militia who wanted to exchange vital information on a small terrorist cell that had recently sparked an uprising across the Middle East. Rumor was that they were heading for Israel next, however since the country's government backed off on talks with the United Nations, Overwatch wasn't able to send out supplies and ammunition to their military and civilians._

_Well, not legally anyways._

_It was a big risk, but everyone on the team agreed that they could just sit this one out. Not when over a million lives could be at stake._

_Jeffery Ivery did manage to convince Israel's government to hold a conference in the city, with the United Nations approval. Jeffery and Bethany hoped that it would bring all of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities together, encouraging them to stand their ground and to not fear the enemy that would be coming for them. He wanted to teach them that united, they could accomplish anything, and that they shouldn't let this evil discriminate their beliefs._

_This was the perfect time for the Strike Team to take their mission into action. With most of the civilians participating in the conference, the Strike Team would be able to go unnoticed._

_The team was split up into 5 sections. Torbjorn stayed with the jet, camouflaged from prying eyes and defended by the Swedish man's brilliantly designed turrets, Ana was perched up in a abandoned tower assigned as the team's eye in the sky, Gerard was hidden in a small alley within the outskirts of the city, guarding the supplies to be exchanged with the contact, and Reinhardt was on standby for backup, in the event something went wrong during the mission or the exchange went south._

_Gaberial Reyes was in position, checking in on everyone through his com-link._

_"Ana? Ana you there?"_

_"One second--" she spoke, pausing for a few moments before speaking again, her voice slightly more calm and relaxed now. "Okay, I'm good."_

_"Great, let's get started then," The Blackwatch Commander chided, "Strike Team, report in-- How's the fort, Torb?"_

_"Haven't left without you, Commander," the Engineer spoke._

_"Oh, good," Gaberial teased. "Scout in position?"_

_"By 'position', do you mean squatting next to garbage in a filthy alley?" Gerard replied._

_"Yeah,"_

_"Then Oui," The French man confirmed._

_"Waiting for your word, commander!" Reinhardt grinned, taking over in a warehouse not too far from Gerard's location._

_"Where's our resident corn farmer?" Ana questioned with a grin, mostly spying on their location from her post._

_"Good question," Gaberial replied. "He got distracted a few blocks back,"_

_"Did he see something shiny?" The sniper smirked._

_"Absolutely!"_

_Reinhardt laughed. He could practically hear the grin on Gabe's face through the com-link._

_"Can someone, like, shake a box of cat food to see if he'll pop up or something?" The man quipped. I need him here to--" a loud CLACK could be heard in the background. "Hold that thought."_

_Reinhardt could hear the conversation between Jack and Gaberial going on, as the Blackwatch Commander kept his com-link on in the event of an emergency._

_"Welcome back, Jackson!" He greeted._

_"You never call me, Jackson," Jack replied, seeming confused._

_"You were late to my briefing," Gaberial clarified._

_"Sorry, Gabe," Jack apologized, and the German could hear the tiny, faintest sound of a PECK audible in the background._

_"Yeah, yeah, cool it Casanova," Gaberial replied sarcastically, and you could tell he was rolling his eyes. Finally his voice spoke clearer into his mic as his focus was back to the com-link. "Alright kids, it's show time,"_

_"Oh, thank GOD!" Gerard breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared that Reinhardt wasn't the only one listening in on the Commanders teasingly lovers spout._

_"Phase One ready?" Gaberial asked._

_"Ready to move when the two of you are out of sight," Ana answered._

_"Thanks, Ana. . . You got the gear, Lacriox?" Reyes questioned._

_"Package is safe and sound," Gerard confirmed._

_"I hope your source is reliable this time, my friend," Reinhardt cautioned. "Last time was a disaster!"_

_"I didn't realize we were just simply bursting with solutions to World War Wall-e," Gerard replied with annoyance._

_"Does this one have a clean record at least?" Reinhardt questioned as he got his armour and gear ready._

_"He's fine old man," Gerard reassured him. ". . . Well, actually he's wanted in Canada for manslaughter, but who isn't really?"_

_Reinhardt scoffed. Of course, he thought._

_"Window's closing if there are any adults listening," Torbjorn piped with a warning._

_"Got it Torb," Gaberial acknowledged. "Gear up, Phase One team: Feet on the ground in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1-- Strike Team is a go. Stick to the plan, people! There's nothing out there that we haven't seen before,"_

_Show time. . ._

********

I listened to Reinhardt tell his story, and while I knew it wouldn't exactly come with a happy ending, he told it with such passion, it was captivating. It was like I could picture the entire thing in my head as a movie! 

"But. . . things didn't go according to plan?" I recalled. 

Reinhardt shook his head. "The conference created a much needed distraction, long enough for us to make the exchange for the information. However, our contact anticipated the enemies movements, because the cell had arrived earlier than planned. That night actually," 

Thinking it over, something clicked in my mind. "They... they attacked the conference, didn't they?" 

". . . They did," Winston confirmed. 

"No---!" I whined quietly in despair. 

"Somehow the terrorist cell discovered our plans, and formed an alliance with Talon," Winston continued. "When they attacked that night, The Reaper was leading the assault," 

"I only witnessed the aftermath of the attack. . . I had arrived too late," Reinhardt explained, gently setting a hand on my back. "Sadly four of the Strike Team members who could actually tell you what they witnessed are. . . no longer with us,"

That's right. . . Jack Morrison, Ana Amari, Gaberial Reyes, and Gerard Lacriox. . . they're all gone, aren't they?"

"The Reaper. . ." I mumbled quietly, my fists tightening as I could feel tears perking up in my eyes. 

Was he the one that killed Jeffery and Bethany?

"I'm afraid that's all we can say about them for now," Winston clarified as he looked over towards the window that looked out to the city, noticing that it was now nightfall. "It's getting late, anyways,"  

"Are you alright?" Reinhardt questioned with a hint of fondness in his voice, rubbing my back gently with his hand. 

I sniffled, blowing my nose before acknowledging him. "Yeah. . . I understand now that you can't tell me everything, but I am glad you told me something. Thank you, both of you,"

"You're welcome," Reinhardt smiled. 

"Perhaps it's time you get some rest, Hope," Winston suggested. "This is quite a bit of information for you to take in,"

". . . Perhaps," I nodded tiredly in agreement. 

Offering his hand, Reinhardt helped me back up to my feet as Winston regrouped with us, escorting me out and back to our hotel room. 

Winston was right. Just thinking about everything was making me feel tired and so. . . out of breath. It was like I couldn't breathe for a moment. Not after finding out who was the one responsible for  my grandparents death. 

We greeted Genji and Zenyatta upon our arrival before I went straight back to my room, shutting the door behind me. I fell back against the door, sliding down the white painted oak door behind collapsing to the floor. 

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, unlocking it to open a message tab with my brother, Dave. 

**"Hey. . . do you happen to know when mom and dad are coming down for their next visit?"**

Within moments, I received a reply. 

**"I think sometime soon, but they haven't given me an exact date. Why? Did something happen at work?" - Dave**

I didn't waste a second typing up a reply. 

**"Let's just say I'm thinking about planning my visit, too,"**

I was caught off guard when I heard a knock at my bedroom door. I crawled away from my spot before standing back up on my feet, reaching for the door. Turning the knob, I was surprised to see who was there. 

"Lucio?"

"Hey, Hope," He greeted. "I wasn't there to see you off,"

"Did you hear everything?" I asked him. 

"Kinda, yeah," he shrugged. "I wasn't sure to step out or not, thinking it wasn't my place. . ."

"Then, all due respect, why did you come here now?" I questioned the DJ, raising a brow at him as I crossed my arms. 

"Well, because I. . . I didn't want my friend to feel alone,"

My eyes widened in surprise as I gasped quietly at the man. He stretched his arms down, offering a hug. I could feel tears coming back to humiliate me again as I stepped forward, accepting Lucio's offer. 

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you, okay?" He stated soothingly. 

". . . Thank you, Lucio," I sobbed quietly. 

We stayed in that position for a few moments longer until Lucio guided me towards the bed and tucked me in. Once he was satisfied with my care, he exited the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. 

I dreamed of being on that Phase One mission. I dreamed of what might have been, if the night ended differently.  


	23. Sombra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and the others discover that they'll be staying in Numbani a bit longer than they realize. But for our dear Hope, it may have some consequences. . .

I woke up the next morning feeling dried tears along my cheeks and tear stains on my pillow. I remember dreaming of myself in that Strike Team mission that happened all those years ago. I used my imagination and dreamed of how the accident could have happened. I only knew of the outcome, not how exactly it came about. However once I woke up, everything was a blur to me and I instantly forgot.

Was that why there were tears? I realized in my sleep that I forgot everything and ended up crying over it? Was I crying over the fact that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't save my family members?

I remember seeing everything that happened in my dream, and cried upon seeing the bodies of my grandparents on the floor, and then sensed a dark, evil shadow of a presence lurking nearby? I remember hearing a voice...

_Death comes—!_

Was that the voice of the Reaper?

I have heard it before. I haven't heard him speak a complete sentence, no, but I have heard the sounds he makes in battle, and that menacing laugh of his. I recall when I first heard it when he and a bunch of Talon goons invaded Winston's workshop, and I sat there hiding under a table, unable to do anything as Winston fought against the foe.

 _Never again,_ I thought,  _I never want to feel that way ever again._

Not hopeless, or helpless to save my friends. I don't want to sit on the sidelines and just wait for something to happen. I want to be out there on the battlefield, fighting along side my friends! That's why I joined Winston and the recalled Overwatch, didn't I?

But then again, remembering my past experiences in fighting hasn't exactly been my best moments. The stand off with the deadlock gang, the integration with those goons from the Shimada Clan, those two Junkers recently. . .

It seems no matter how hard I try, I'm the one that needs protecting in the end.

"Genji's right," I muttered to myself. "It would help for me to learn how to defend myself,"

I pondered those thoughts as I pushed myself out of bed, only then realizing that I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday. I was so overwhelmed that Lucio brought me straight to bed, I didn't even think to change into pyjamas. I suppose during the time it was the last thing on my mind.

Well, then again... I didn't bother bringing a change of clothes did I? I thought this was going to be a quick investigation mission. Go to Volskaya to interrogate Katya and receive intel about the attack, then rendezvous with the others here in Numbani to investigate Doomfist's break out and then head back to Eichenwalde.

The last thing any of us would have expected was our plane getting shot out of the sky by Junkrat and Roadhog.

I sighed, rubbing my face tiredly.  _Great, I'm probably gonna smell now. What's the point in showering if I'm just gonna wear the same stinky clothes again after that?_

However I quickly decided to stop by the bathroom and at least brush my teeth and washed my face. That way I didn't feel like I totally stank. Not to self, first thing when we get back to base, I'm gonna have a nice, long, hot shower. 

I trudged out of my room, entering the living room for my nose to meet a sweet, warm aroma.

"Good morning, Miss Ivery," a gentle voice greeted.

I looked over towards the kitchen counter to see Zenyatta and Genji greeting me. The Omnic was holding a small mug of tea as the cyborg ninja prepared a cup for himself. When I looked over at Genji however, I swore I did a double take. It was then I realized that his mask was resting on the table. I was looking at his face! He had lightly pale skin with scars all along his cheeks, nose, and forehead. You could just see the bangs of his silky black hair poking out and he had soulful pure brown eyes.

I had to take a moment to compose myself before speaking.

"Good morning," I greeted in kind, making my way over towards them. "How are you guys?"

"We are holding up well, but can you say the same for yourself? You seemed quite distraught last night," The Omnic Monk recalled.

"I was that obvious, huh?" My head sank into my shoulders as I could feel my face heating up with embarrassment.

"Winston told us what happened," Genji elaborated, his eyes filled with concern. "Are you feeling a bit better, now?"

I nodded over at the younger Shimada. "A little bit, yes."

"My student thought you might like to have this," Zenyatta explained as he offered me the cup of tea he held in his servos. "May it help lift your spirits and brighten your day, Miss Ivery,"

I smiled at the token as I took the cup in my hands, bowing my head respectively. "Thank you both for the tea, that's very kind of you,"

I took a seat at the counter, sitting beside the monk and across from the Genji as the three of us chatted, asking their opinions of how the mission was going and so fourth. Man it was going to take me a while to get used actually seeing Genji's face.

"Hey Genji?" I perked up after taking a sip of the tea.

"Yes, Hope?" He acknowledged, raising a brow in my direction.

"Did you. . . ever meet my grandfather?" I questioned. 

Sighing in dismay, the younger Shimada shook his head. "No, I did not. I'm afraid your grandfather was long gone by the time I came into contact with Overwatch," 

"Oh, I see. . ." I nodded understandably before lowering my head in disappointment. 

"However, I have heard stories about him," Genji added, gently placing a metal hand on my shoulder as the sudden touch made me look up to meet his gaze. "From what I heard he was a remarkable man," 

"From what I've read in that article I found last night, he's helped a lot of people," I reflected, a small smile forming on my lips. 

"And I have the utmost confidence that you shall do the same," Zenyatta assured as Genji moved back into his seat.  

There was a sudden knock at the door as Winston emerged, shutting the door behind him as he sighed heavily, appearing tired. "Everyone, we may be here a while longer,"

"What's going on?" I asked as Zenyatta, Genji, and I walked closer towards the gorilla. 

"The N.S.F. has requested our services to remain here for the time being. We may have a possible lead on Doomfist's whereabouts and they've asked me to look into it," Winston explained. "Don't be alarmed if I call upon you for assistance," 

"Of course, we shall assist you in anyway we can," Genji nodded firmly. 

"We got your back, boss," I grinned, giving the gorilla a thumbs up of approval. 

"Thank you," Winston smiled with a sigh of relief. "I'll just be over there should you need anything," 

The three of us watched as Winston stalked back over to the desk he worked at last night, activating his tablet as holographic screens appeared all around him as he got straight to work. Genji and Zenyatta returned to the counter to finish the tea, and I was about to join them myself when another knock startled me at the front door. 

"Coming!" Making my way over, I unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a familiar Brazilian DJ. "Lucio--!"

"Morning, Hope!" He greeted with a warm and cheerful smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you for asking," I thanked, rubbing the back of my neck as a small blush began to take form on my cheeks. "Um, and thank you for. . . being there for me last night. I felt like I was about to fall into a dark abyss, but you were there to catch me at the last minute." 

"Everything that happened last night was pretty... deep, to say the least," Lucio admitted. "But since I kinda helped you figure out what's what, I felt like--- no, I wanted to be there for you at the end too," 

"That's what friends are for, right?" I reminded with a tease. 

Lucio chuckled, and I swore I felt my heart skip a beat after hearing it. "Right you are!"

"So what's up? Is that why you're here?" I asked him. 

"To check on you more? Well, that was the plan, but it looks like Master Zenyatta and Genji-kun beat me to it," Lucio crossed his arms with a grin. 

"I heard that!" Genji perked up. "And McCree's the only one who can call me that!" 

"Too late, called it, locked it, no erasies!" Lucio laughed as his hands motioned locking something and stuff it into his pocket. 

"Weren't you going to ask Miss Ivery out or something?" Genji talked back, and I could swear I heard the smirk in his voice when he talked just then. 

The both of us instantly shot up as we locked eyes with the cyborg. "What?!" We both exclaimed in unison before looking back at each other. The both of us appeared to be blubbering messes as I tried to ask Lucio for clarification and in turn Lucio tried to answer me. 

"A-a-a-are you really asking m-m-me--"

Lucio fidgeting with his hands before stuffing them into his pockets. "Well I mean, since we're gonna be here for a while, I just thought you'd might like to look around the city, go shopping and buy some new clothes?"

"Well, you're right about that part. . ." I agreed, pulling against the neck of my shirt nervously. 

"But it's not a date!" Lucio stated, shooting his hands up defensively. "I mean, I wouldn't force something like that on you! Efi and Orisa will be hanging out with us too!" 

"Oh, so like hanging out and stuff?" I questioned slowly. 

"Yes, yes!" Lucio's eyes shot wide with relief. "Just a group of friends hanging out. . . and one of said friends is a robot centaur," 

I giggled at the last comment, and in general I was glad that things were cleared up. "Well, alright, I have no problems with that,"

"Really? Well, awesome!" Lucio smiled, waving me over. "Come on, they're waiting for us down in the lobby,"

"Oh, but, I don't have my credit stick with me," I realized, smacking myself in the head. "It's back in Eichenwalde. . ."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Lucio reassured me as he gently took me hand in his, lowering it away from my face. "It'll be my treat, no strings attached."

"Are you sure?" I asked for clarification. 

"It's fine, Hope, really," He smiled before pulling me forward. "Come on, we're burning daylight!"

"Whoa--!" I gasped as I was pulled into the wall, looking through the doorway as I waved over at Genji and Zenyatta. "Catch you guys later!" 

The pair watched Lucio and I leave before Zenyatta hovered over to the door, closing it shut before turning his attention towards his student. "You know what, Genji? I believe you may be correct!"

"I told you so, Master," Genji smirked a devilish grin proudly as he sipped his tea. 

"But do you really think startling the two of them like that was necessary?" Zenyatta lectured. "The emotion of love must work at it's own pace. We cannot force it to move any different," 

"Let's just say they needed a bit of a push in the right direction, Master," Genji replied as he slipped his mask back on, the guard snapping back in place. "I'm sure they'll get along just fine," 

"As you wish, Genji," Zenyatta nodded his head. 

Over in the distance, though they couldn't see it with his head turned away, Winston, upon hearing both conversations, couldn't help but smile.  _I'm sure they will. . ._

********

A week seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. I had a wonderful time spending my breaks with Lucio, and Efi and Orisa for that matter too. They were great in showing us around the city. Of course, I helped out Winston whenever he called for me throughout the week. 

It turns out Doomfist was spotted in at a casino in Monaco. Not only that, but it appeared that Widowmaker was with him as well! But what were they doing in a casino, gambling away? I thought Talon being a huge terrorist organization, they would have all of the money in the world. But I suppose not. . . 

Winston had called McCree and Hanzo, asking them to fly down to the casino and ask around for any suspicious activity and such. That was three days ago. Here's hoping they figure something out. The sooner they do, the sooner we could go back to Eichenwalde. Not that I had anything against Numbani! It's a great place to visit, but I was starting to miss my new German castle that I called home. 

Dave even checked in on me to see how I was doing, wondering where I was this time. He asked if I was still planning my visit, and I told him yes, and to let me know when our parents would be planning to visit him, that way we could all meet up. 

Whether they liked it or not, I had questions for them. . .

I thought today was going to be like all the other days this week, but life or GOD or whoever or whatever continues to surprise me. 

It was an early Monday afternoon. The gang and I were just finishing lunch at a local coffee shop. Today I was sporting a dark red leather jacket with a black blouse underneath, grey jeans with holes in the knees and black ankle high boots. 

"I think it's about time we head back and check out Winston's progress and see how Hanzo and Jesse are doing," Lucio suggested. "What do you think, Hope?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan," I agreed with a smile as I stood up from my seat. "Just give me a second to use the restroom,"

"We'll wait for you outside, then," Efi offered as Lucio payed the bill and the pair set off. 

I walked in the opposite direction, walking deeper into the establishment as I found the ladies room and stepped inside. I did my thing, and just as I was finishing with washing my hands, my communicator suddenly went off. 

I tilted my wrist forward to glance at the screen to check who was calling me, but it gave me a private number. I rose a brow at it as I dried my hands, stepping away from the sink. I've never gotten a private number on it before. Who could it be? All of the agents are on my contact list, at least I think? I never got around to Torbjorn, did I?

"What the--?"

Tossing the paper towel aside, I tapped the screen as I accepted the call. All of a sudden the screen went static before the holographic screen powered on and a purple skull jump scared me. 

" **Me extrañaste?** " the skull greeted.

I jumped back into the wall before sliding down to the floor as I lost the feeling in my legs. I knew that skull. That was the skull that belonged to the hacker who created the Sombra Protocol! I breathed in and out frantically as the skull laughed at me. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you that bad!" 

The skull had a woman's voice, and it had some sort of Spanish accent. From where exactly? I couldn't tell at the top of my head as I was still recovering from that heart attack of a greeting. 

"H-H-How did you get this frequency?" I finally mustered up the courage to speak. 

"Um hello? I've had it since last week," the female voice replied. 

That's right... when her final messaged appeared on my communicator after she hacked the N.S.F.'s main computer mainframe, that's when it happened! 

"Wait. . . so that talk we had was just a distraction for you to hack my communicator?" I realized, glaring at the skull.

"Took you long enough," she grumbled. 

Once I had enough confidence, I slowly pulled myself up to my feet, my eyes never tearing away from the skull. 

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I'm here to offer you a little job," she answered as I took a peek outside to see if my scream had attracted any attention. When the cost was clear, I pulled back inside. "One that I know you won't refuse,"

"Really?" I raised a brow skeptically at the skull. "What makes you think I'll do a job for you?"

"Because if you don't. . ." the skull paused as another holographic screen appeared before me. It appeared to be a live feed of some sort of security camera. There was a beach with a waterfront, and a series of apartment buildings along it. . . 

Wait. . . I know that street, and that building the camera was pointing at! 

The camera suddenly zoomed in, narrowing down on a certain window at a certain floor. A figure could be seen through it. It appeared to be male. . . looks like he was washing dishes. Black hair, blue eyes. . .  _oh no!_

"Your dear brother is going to be on the receiving end of the punishment," the skull threatened. 

No way. . . there was no way!

"No doubt you're surprised, shocked even. I can tell by the long silence," the skull continued. "All you have to do is accept my proposal, do your job, and I can guarantee your brothers safety." 

"You? Protect him?!" I rose my voice, my anger slowly getting the better of me. "What makes you think I should trust you?"

The skull chuckled. "Ivery, trust me when I say that right now, I'm the only person you can trust," 

I growled at the skull, leaning back against the bathroom wall. 

"What you are looking at is a live feed through the scope of Widowmaker's sniper rifle," the skull explained. "All my boss has to do is give the order, and Widow goes to work. I'll tell you now; She never misses her mark," 

My nostrils flared as I glanced between the skull and the live feed she was projecting for me. It looked so real. . . was it real? If even the slightest chance she was lying. . . could I risk it? I stared at the zoomed in, pixel face of my brother. Was it actually him? 

My free hand curled into a tight fist. I know my brother. I know his routine. . .

_Crap. . ._

I uncurled them, so angry with the situation that I didn't notice he fact I dug marks into my skin with my nails as tiny, faint strains of blood filled the lines. 

"What do you want me to do?" I asked. 

"I knew you'd listen to reason, you're smarter than you let on, Ivery," the skull complimented. 

"Gee, thanks," I mumbled. 

One more holographic screen appeared on the other side of me. This time it was a picture of a familiar pink haired woman I met only a week ago. 

"You remember her don't you?" The skull questioned. 

"Zarya," I answered. 

"Ding, ding, ding! You're good at this," the skull chided. "For the past week, she's been travelling the world trying to learn about my whereabouts so she can turn me in for her boss, the most powerful woman in Russia, a recent friend of mine,"

"Some friend if she's trying to rat you out," I smirked. 

"You would think that, huh?" She joked in reply. "Anyways, I've just discovered that she'll be looking around Numbani tomorrow. She's suppose to meet up with a amateur Omnic hacker by the name of Lynx-17. I want you to follow them, learn what they're up to. That's your job," 

". . . And if I do this, you'll call off your spider to stay away from my brother?" I clarified. 

"Cross my heart and hope to die," the skull answered. 

I held back a hiss as I shook my head, trying to resist the urge to punch something before I spoke. "Alright, I'll do it. . . what's your name?"

The skull remained silent as the animation blinked for a moment before speaking one last time. "Sombra. . .that is all you will ever know. Good luck!"

The purple skull and holographic screens vanished as the call ended and the screen of my communicator returned to normal. I could feel my knees beginning to cave again as I slowly reached for the door, processing what had just happened. 

"Hope Ivery, you just made a deal with the devil herself. . ." I mumbled to myself as I walked out of the restroom and rejoined civilization.   

 


	24. Numbani II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope Ivery prepares for her mission to spy on Zarya in order to protect her brother from being assassinated by Widowmaker, but that's not the only thing she needs to prepare for. . .

I tried to take my mind off the event that just occurred earlier that afternoon, but I just couldn't do it. Every now and again whilst helping Winston with more work in tracking Doomfist, I kept getting distracted, thinking about my conversation with Sombra. Looks like there was a report of a low scale politician of some sort getting shot in Italy. It may not seem related, but according to Athena, there has been a surge of Talon activity there before the attack at Winston's workshop. We were updating the NSF of the find when Winston finally seemed to notice my behavior.

When he asked me if I was feeling alright, I just kinda. . . froze. Could I tell him what happened?

But Sombra hacked my communicator somehow in order to message me. Is she listening in to my conversations right now? Is she monitoring me? What if I tell the truth, and the next thing I know, she makes the call and Widowmaker could kill my brother?!

So. . . I ended up lying to Winston.

It didn't feel good.

In the end, I told him that I was just tired, and that I wasn't feeling well. Made up an excuse that something I ate earlier that day probably didn't agree with me. In a sense, I wasn't wrong. Thinking about what Sombra said made my stomach do back flips, and it actually did make me sick.

The scientist hummed as he nodded with understanding, letting me stop early for the night. Genji was kind enough to prepare a cup of herbal tea for me before I was sent off to my room. I felt bad about accepting it, but maybe it would help me calm my stomach and nerves for a bit.

I sat against the headrest of my bed, pillows propped up against my back as I took a sip of my tea. I stared at my reflection through the drink, my hold on the cup tightening.

My brother's life was on the line. . . but could I really trust Sombra to keep her word? Was that a risk I was willing to take?

I pulled my smart phone out of my pant pocket, unlocking that screen as I opened my contacts folder and tapped Dave's name. My thumb hovered over the call button. I so badly wanted to know if he was okay. This was all happening right under his nose. He is completely unaware that his life is hanging by a thread.

But what if Sombra is tracking my phone somehow? If she knows who I am, did she hack it too? Surely she's gotten my number. . .

Setting my cup of tea to the side, I reached into the bedside table drawer, pulling out a tiny USB. Winston designed it as a "virus cleaner". It can scan any electronic device and detect if it's been tampered with by an outside party it doesn't recognize. In this case, Sombra and Talon.

I inserted the USB into the charger input of my phone, and the display on my screen changed to Athena's symbol.

"Hello Miss Ivery," The AI greeted. "How May I assist you?"

Right. . . Winston must have implemented a part of Athena's AI into the USB. It's smart really, she sure knows her stuff.

"Can you run a security check on my phone, please?" I asked.

"Of course," she complied. "Give me a moment,"

Her symbol vanished and was replaced with a progress bar, steadily going up at soothing rate. Once it reached the other end, the blue bar glowed green.

"Scan complete. No viruses or any other bugs detected in this device," Athena proclaimed.

"Thank you, Athena," I smiled politely. "I just need to unplug it, and my screen will return to normal?"

"That is correct," she confirmed. "If you don't mind me asking, but why did you want me to run a security check?"

"Oh. . . Well, with what happened earlier last week, I guess I'm just feeling a bit paranoid, that's all," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.

_Man, Hanzo was right. Lying does NOT look good on me._

"I see," Athena acknowledged. "I suppose one can't be too cautious,"

"Thank you again for your help," I praised.

"You are welcome. Goodnight Miss Ivery," Athena spoke in farewell. "You may eject when ready,"

I pulled the USB out of the port and all of the apps on my phone returned as if nothing had actually changed. Tossing the USB back into the drawer with the remainder of a few of my personal belongings I bought over the week, I shut the drawer and laid back against my pillow, returning my hold to the tea cup.

_Back to business then. . . The mission. . ._

"What do I remember of Zarya. . ." I mumbled to myself, my gaze drifting off to the ceiling as I picture the previous memory in my mind, playing it back like a film. 

My first interaction with Zarya didn't exactly go smooth sailing. She didn't treat Genji as an equal. She looked down upon him like he was a piece of trash and it made my blood boil. But even after that, Zarya doesn't deserve to get possibly ambushed by Talon in order to protect Sombra just because I was upset with her calling Genji an Omnic, right?

But what if what Sombra said was really all true?

I sighed, setting my cup down on the bedside counter as I sat up from the bed. I can't just sit around all night thinking about this. I need to move, and get my blood flowing.

I walked over to the giant window that gave me a stunning view of Downtown Numbani. Raising my wrist up, I activated my communicator, bringing up a holoscreen as I google searched Zarya, reading up her profile.

"Aleksandra Zaryanova, eh?" I mumbled to myself.

Looks like she was a champion weightlifter before joining the war against the Omnics attacking Russia.

Sombra said the Russian would be meeting an Omnic hacker named Lynx-17. If she wants me to report their activity, I'm going to need to find his address. I scrolled through my message board. . . nothing from the Spanish hacker. It appears she wants me to really work hard for this. In a sense, I get why.

"Looks like this is going to be a tailing mission," I realized.

I zoomed in on Zarya's profile picture, taking a few minutes to try and memorize her face, eye colour, her hair (though I'm sure it'll stand out once I find her out in the streets), the scar above her right eye, her "512" tattoo on her left shoulder, and her pale skin.

Once I was satisfied, I powered off my communicator as I walked back to the counter, finishing the cup of tea before I got ready for bed.

I'm probably going to get in huge trouble with Winston. . . again. But I don't exactly have a choice right now.

*******

Sombra pushed the large doors open, strutting into the office of Talon Director Agrippa. The older woman sat at her desk, chatting with Akande who stood by her, discussing plans and other possible targets to hit.

The hackers sudden appearance caught the Director's attention as she turned her head to acknowledge her approach. "What is it, Sombra?"

"You told Reaper that you wanted to see how Ivery would handle herself in a fight, right?" The Spanish woman recalled, a smile spreading on her lips.

"Sombra, what exactly did you do?" Akande questioned, his arms crossed over his chest.

She giggled darkly as she snapped her fingers, her techno-wired gloves materializing a holographic screen that displayed her signature skull, it's lips moving as it played back a recording.

**"I've just discovered that she'll be looking around Numbani tomorrow. She's supposed to be meeting up with a amateur Omnic hacker by the name of Lynx-17. I want you to follow them, learn what they're up to. That's your job," - Sombra**

**". . . And if I do this, you'll call off your spider to stay away from my brother?" - Hope**

**"Cross my heart and hope to die," - Sombra**

Sombra paused the recording as she exchanged glances between the pair, seeming proud of herself.

"So that's why Widowmaker seemed to vanish yesterday," Doomfist mumbled to himself.

"Well?" Sombra idled, waiting for an answer.

"This certainly is a quite. . . direct approach," Agrippa admitted, cupping her chin as she leaned back against her chair. "I take it you'll be monitoring her progress?"

"Correct! She'll find out what our Russian friend is up to, and once she relays that information to me, I can deal with Miss Zaryanova," She explained. "What do you think?"

"Does Reaper know about this?" Akande asked.

"Uh, duh!" Sombra rolled her eyes. "I'm the one that convinced him to send her to Dave Ivery's location,"

"Alright then, we'll go along with your little plan," Agrippa confirmed, sitting up in her chair. "Report Hope Ivery's statistics to the two of us once the mission is done, that way we can properly assess her for Project Disciple,"

"You got it, boss," the girl saluted the woman before turning on her heels. She was about to make it to the doors when---

"And Olivia?" Agrippa called.

Sombra flinched, freezing in her place as her head idly turned to glance at her employer.

"Don't get caught," The woman commanded. 

". . . Yes, ma'am," The Hacker replied as she left the room.

Satisfied, Agrippa stood from her chair, slowly walking towards a giant glass window behind her as she observed the view outside, Akande standing near her position.

"Since we'll be learning about Miss Ivery's capabilities tomorrow, we should start preparations early for Project Disciple," she spoke, hands behind her back. "Overwatch has learned of your presence in Monaco, and it may not be long before they discover our traces in Venice,"

Akande listened inventively, and it was then his eyes widened with surprise as he took a step closer towards his boss. "Are you suggesting that we--?"

"Akande, what were the last known whereabouts of our geneticist, Moira?" Agrippa asked, turning her head towards him.

"The last I heard from our intel department, Ms. O'Deorain is continuing her work in Iraq," Doomfist recalled.

"Oasis?" Agrippa perked up, a brow raised with interest. "How intriguing,"

"I've heard she's made quite a name for herself," The man commented.

"Once Sombra delivers Miss Ivery's stats, I'd like you to pass them on to Moira and bring her back here. I want our top scientist here if the Project is be a complete success," Agrippa ordered.

"You don't trust me to see the projects success myself?" Doomfist teased with a smirk.

Agrippa scoffed playfully, completely turning her body to face him. "All due respect, Akande, your job is to train our new additions and see to it that their physical capabilities are perfected. Moira, on the other hand, will be giving them new life,"

********

I woke up early the next morning. It was quite possibly the earliest I've ever gotten up. My eyes fluttered open to see the digital alarm clock in its big red bold letters display " **8:00am** ".

"Time to go," I muttered.

Pushing myself out of bed, I quickly showered and got dressed for the day, wearing the outfit I wore yesterday to save time. I slipped my communicator onto my wrist, shoved my phone into my pocket. Walking towards the door, I carefully and as quietly as possible, opened it and peered through the crack to see if anyone else was awake.

Winston had fallen asleep at his desk, and was snoring away, occasionally scratching his belly. I smirked playfully at the sight before my eyes drifted elsewhere, scanning the rest of the living room. It looked like Genji and Zenyatta haven't woken up yet, and are still retiring in their room next door to mine.

I stepped out into the living space, slowly shutting my bedroom door. It clicked quietly and I paused for a few seconds to see if it would do anything to wake up the gorilla scientist. Nothing. All was good.

I breathed a sigh of relief before speed walking to the front door, pausing once again to check if Winston was awake. He shifted in his seat, moving over to sleep on his side, his back turned against me.

"Sorry big guy. . ." I mumbled before grabbing my room key and swiftly exiting the hotel room.

My heart was pounding as I walked down the hall and stopped in front of the elevator, waiting for it to come up to my floor. I was so anxious, I was impatiently bouncing in place, just wanting to get this whole thing over with. I didn't like--- no, I hated going behind my friends backs like this.

_But Dave. . ._

The elevator chimed it's arrival, snapping me out of my thoughts. Just as I was about to take a step forward, I stopped, freezing in place as a familiar Brazilian man stepped off the elevator. His hair was down as sweat beamed off his forehead and neck. His eyes snapped in surprise when he saw me, startled as his hand hovered over his chest.

"Hope, hey!" he squealed. "Sorry about that, I didn't see you there. . ."

"No, no, it's okay," I waved my hands reassuringly. "What are you doing up this early?"

"Hm? Oh, I was just down in the hotel gym for a bit," he answered, grabbing the towel that rested along his left shoulder as he wiped some of the sweat off his face. "They have a pretty decent set up. What are you doing up?"

"Me?" I perked up, and I swore I could feel my heart seize to beat.

"Yeah, I heard you weren't doing so well last night," he clarified with concern. "Are you feeling any better?"

_No, I'm not. Quite frankly, my brother's life is on the line and I'm being forced to do dirty work for the Talon hacker, which I can now confirm is named Sombra, and I have to spy on quite possibly the most strongest woman I have ever seen in my life, and I have to do this all alone, cause if I tell anyone, it could put my brother in even more danger than he already is!_

"Um. . . a little bit," I gulped nervously. "I was just going to pop outside and take a walk to get some fresh air into my system,"

"Oh, well, if you give me a few minutes to get changed, I could join you if you'd like?" Lucio offered. "Efi told me about this great breakfast buffet that's a couple streets down from the hotel,"

_Yes! Yes, I would love that more than anything in the world!_

"Actually, Lucio. . . I kind of just want to me alone for a bit," I answered.

I could see the look of disappointment in his eyes as he nodded his head with understanding. A small smile still perched on his lips, but I could sense he was feeling otherwise. "No problem, I understand. . ."

He kindly stepped aside, waving his arm forward to allow me passage into the elevator. I smiled curtly as I walked inside. I turned my body around, watching as the elevator doors slowly began to close, and Lucio was about to take his leave. It made my heart ache. I wanted to so badly reach out to him, but I couldn't could I?

I hummed nervously before without making any second thoughts, I reached my hand out and signaled the doors to stop. They retracted upon sensing my motion as I poked my head out. "Lucio?"

My voice caught his attention as he stopped, turning his head to face me. "Yeah?"

"Thank you. . . for, uh. . . everything you've done for me this past week," I spoke slowly. "It really means a lot to me,"

That seemed to relax the young man a little bit as his genuine smile returned, his body completely turning around to face me. "Well, yeah, anytime. What are friends for, right?"

"Yeah. . ." I smiled in return. "Friends,"

_But why am I getting a sense that maybe we could be. . . something more?_

"How about tomorrow morning then? For the breakfast buffet?" I suggested, sounding hopeful. 

Lucio's eyes sparkled like a little kid had gotten all of the presents he wanted from Santa at Christmas, his smile glowing brighter. "Really? Okay, sure!"

I giggled at the sight. It was kinda adorable. "That settles it then,"

"It's a date!" He proclaimed. He paused, taking a moment to process what he had said before his expression changed. He looked terrified as he quickly rose his hands, waving them apologetically. "Not like an  _actual_ date, what I mean't was, I mean. . . it can be?"

I swore my heart fluttered back to life after hearing those words. I sucked in my gut, muttering up the courage to say these next few words. "Would you like it to be a date?"

I could feel my cheeks flaring a bright pink, I wanted to hide in that elevator for the rest of my life. I just asked out Lucio on a date!

"I mean, I'd like for it to be. . ." Lucio replied, rubbing the back of his neck as I swore I could see a hint of pink forming on his cheeks too! "If that's okay with you?"

I hold on the elevator doors tightened as I took a quick breath to try and calm myself a little. "It's more than okay with me,"

"Well, awesome!" Lucio gasped in shock. "I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "See ya!"

He waved goodbye at me before turning the corner and vanishing into the hallway. I let go of the doors as the elevator doors closed on me and I pressed the Lobby button. I leaned back against the wall, my heart racing as a huge smile formed on my face and I found myself squealing with joy.

Tomorrow morning I was going on a date with world famous freedom fighter and DJ, Lucio!

But first, I've got a Russian to spy on.


	25. Zarya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope sets off on her mission assigned by Sombra, and learns a bit more about the hacker in question. Meanwhile, a vigilante duo discover the whereabouts of the Ivery family.

The thought of spending time with Lucio tomorrow on my first date filled me with a much needed confidence/energy boost. This Sombra lady is expecting results, and I have a feeling that if I don't deliver enough or exactly what she wants, Dave's life could be at risk a lot more than it is right now. 

Which meant it was about time I began my search for Miss Zarya, and headed out into the streets of Numbani. I didn't want to try and stand out too much, so I tried my best to stick to hiding in big crowds and blending in with my surroundings. Hanging out with Efi has helped me a lot in learning my way around the streets of this city, especially downtown. I kept my head low, wearing a pair of green sunglasses with black tinted shades over my eyes to block out the sun as I entered the plaza.

"Okay, now if I were ex-weightlifter searching for an Omnic hacker, where would I be?" I mumbled to myself.

Scanning the area, I didn't see one person with pink hair. I checked the local coffee shops, clothing stores, the jeweler, any place I could find. But it was to no avail. I huffed with irritation. Just how many people, and Omnics for that matter, lived in this city anyway?

"Okay, think Hope, think!"

How would Zarya get into the city? If she's coming in straight from St. Petersburg. . .

The airport!

Wasting no time, I dashed out of the plaza, startling a few passerby's. "Excuse me!" I yelped as I ran down quite possibly the longest street in this part of the city. How could I have been so stupid and clueless? Of course she would come in from the airport! Following the street signs and directory I finally found the Numbani International Airport. It was challenging to find, since my friends and I technically drove to the city with our plane getting shot down and all. No thanks to those Australian Junkers.

Shoving the memory aside, I made my way into the terminal. The place was unusually crowded, even for an airport. But it wasn't until I passed through the main archway and entered the lobby did I realize why.

Police caution tap was scattered everywhere, surrounding broken and dismantled OR-15 robots. Craters and dents could be seen across the beige marble floor and high oak walls of the room. There was a giant one up on the wall behind me, an OR-15 stuck right into the wall. If you looked close enough you could still see the wires and circuits spark within its armour. The display monitor above it that normally would display the list of flights had a crack in it, and the screen occasionally frizzled in and out of power.

At the other side of the room, everything seemed fine. Like the area had been sparred by Doomfist's attack. So, I decided to begin my search there. Carefully maneuvering through the crime scene, I made my way to the second display board and scanned the rows of flights.

**"Moscow: Flight E5 - 4R41."**

"Yes!" I quietly cheered, eyes widened with hope as I glanced over to the right to check on the status of the plane--!

**"Cancelled."**

Those red, bold letters absolutely crushed my soul as my fingers clutched together in a fist. "Dang it!"

Keep calm, Hope, don't lose hope.  _Pun_   _Intended_.

Scanning the flight numbers again, I didn't see any other flights that were coming in from Russia. Maybe she was on a connecting flight?

I sighed, shoulders slouched in defeat as I was preparing to face the fact that I couldn't find Zarya like this. I can't go back to Sombra empty handed!

I turned my head and was going to head back to the exit— wait!

I spotted a bright pink head of hair moving through the crowds. My gaze never wavering away, I followed it, trying to catch the sight of the body that it belonged to. I followed it back the way I cams, exiting the airport as I stopped at the archway, quickly hiding to the side as I poked my head out. If this wasn't her, then I'm going to feel so stupid right now for stalking a stranger.

The crowds thinned, and I could see the bulging muscles, the dark blue jumpsuit, pink nail polish on her fingers, scar over her eye and piercing green eyes.

"Zarya!" I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Her head flinched suddenly as her body began to turn in my direction.

"Crap!" I cursed as I quickly moved away, my back pressed against the wall inside the main hall.

I stayed like that for a few long seconds, my heart pounding in my chest. I prayed to GOD that she didn't hear me, or see me for that matter. I sucked in a breath, finally daring to take another peek. When I glanced over, I had discovered I wasn't compromised and the Russian was on the move.

"Time to go," I muttered, eyes narrowed.

I waited a few more seconds to give Zarya some more group between me before heading out myself, and my mission had finally began.

She walked on one sidewalk, I took the one on the other side of the street. She turned a corner, I peeked over to see where she was going before jogging after her, slowing my speed whenever she came to a stop and looked at a sign or asked for directions to a certain street.

I was so caught up in my stake out, I almost didn't realize where exactly she was going. We were back near the plaza and just down the street from the hotel!

Here's hoping Winston, Reinhardt, Lucio, Genji, or Zenyatta don't peek out their hotel room window and see me. What would I tell them if they saw me sneaking around in a busy street?

I watched Zarya trek down the street and when she was far enough, I began to step out and follow her lead when I came to a halt, hearing a recognizable giggle echo from the lips of a small girl.

"Come on, Orisa, we're going to be late!" Efi called. 

"Yikes!" Alarms blared loudly in my head as I quickly took cover behind a parked car, poking up slightly to see the young Numbani girl and her creation following closely behind her.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Efi," Orissa replied. "I don't wish to go over the walking speed limit,"

I couldn't help but smirk as I watched the pair go, turning the corner as they entered the hotel. Lucio must have invited them over to hang out today. Once the coast was clear, I stepped out into the street to see a quick snap of Zarya and her bright pink hair stepping into an alley way.

She walked out in the open up until now. Maybe this is where she's meeting the hacker?

I jogged over to the entry way of the alley, peeking in to see Zarya pass a couple doors before stopping in front of one, the fourth down. She knocked on the door and it triggered a motion sensor, the door opening upon contact. She stepped inside, and that's when I started to hear voices.

I took a risk, stepping out of hiding as I quietly began walking towards the open door, bending my knees slightly to stay low. I tapped the screen of my communicator to life, activating a voice recording app as I hit play, the sensor beginning to go off as I drew closer to the door and it picked up Zarya's voice, along with the hacker.

"Greetings Aleksandra Zaryanova," a robotic voice spoke. "I am Lynx - 17. I understand you require my services,"

I slowly peered my head over to peek through the open door way, glancing over at the Omnic hacker. His helm resembled a bit of Zenyatta, but the only real difference to see between the two was that Lynx had antler like antenna's on his helm. He wore a dark blue long neck shirt with a aqua blue athletic sweater over top with finger-less gloves over his servos and matching track pants.  

"You're a robot. She didn't tell me you were a robot," Zarya spoke. 

"You're very observant," He replied. "She didn't tell me you were observant," 

I tried so hard not to snicker as I covered my mouth with my free hand. Zarya just totally got played. 

"Did you know it was an Omnic?" Zarya questioned. 

"Sometimes you must work with those you don't like to fight a common enemy," Katya's voice spoke over a separate communicator Zarya had on hand. "Do it for me, and do it for our country,"

Zarya sighed in reply, rolling her eyes as she began to turn. I quickly darted my head back outside as I pressed my back against the wall, holding my breath.  _Stay focused, Ivery. . ._

"You do realize how rude that was?" Lynx-17 attempted to correct the Russian. 

"What?" The woman replied in confusion. 

"I see. . . manners aren't your strong suit," Lynx-17 commented. 

I heard footsteps, walking deeper into the building as they grew faint from my hearing. I took it as a sign that I should get closer if I wanted to get this intel for Sombra, even though it made my skin crawl as I reminded myself again I was now working for the enemy against my will. 

Taking a quick peek inside, the room appeared empty as there was another open door at the other side of the room, a bright blue glowing light shining in the darkness as I heard a pair of voices mumble to each other. Staying low to the floor, I quietly crept inside the housing unit, making my way towards the door. 

_Great, I'm trespassing into someone's property now!_

Once I was close enough to the door, I stood by the arch, standing up to my feet with my back pressed against the wall. I slowly inched my wrist communicator closer towards the door to better pick up their conversation. 

"Lucky for you, The Sombra Collective is something of a passion of mine," Lynx-17 went on. "They appeared recently--- But then they have been quite active. Hacking governments, corporations, and organizations worldwide. Their motives are not clear, though. It's about more than just money,"

I took another quick peek inside the room to see that Lynx had brought up a holographic web of data that connected various persons and other organizations that Sombra had targeted. Tiny pixel skulls were placed in various places, the ones I could immediately make out were St. Petersburg in Russia, and somewhere in central Mexico. There were screen shots of Katya, Widowmaker, heck even Reaper. But there was one image that really caught my attention. It was someone had I hadn't seen before. 

In the photo it appeared to be a male, possibly a bit old with his white hair. He wore a dark blue mask that covered his whole face, with a red visor that covered his eyes, and I could just barely make out the tips of a black shirt with a white, blue, and red leather jacket. 

Why did that look so vaguely familiar to me? 

Their conversation resuming regained my attention as I quickly pulled my head back, staying against the wall. 

"How. . . do you do this?" Zarya asked with marvel. 

"I don't think I could explain it so that it would mean anything to you," He replied. 

"I killed many Omnics. . ." She muttered.  

_Uh oh._

"Why are you offended? You're not one of us; There's no way you'd understand," Lynx-17 stated. 

"I would rather die than understand a robot," Zarya scoffed in reply. 

_Okay, that's just cold!_

"I  **meant** you're not a hacker," he clarified. "But your prejudice is duly logged. There's the door," 

I breath hitched as my eyes widened.  _No, no, no! Please don't walk out the door and see me!_

At first I thought Zarya would take him up on his offer, but after standing by for a few moments, she spoke up, "There is something you do not know about the Sombra Collective," 

"What could you possibly know about them that  **I** don't?!" Lynx-17 gasped, appearing shocked at the statement as if he was personally attacked. 

"It is not a collective, Sombra is a woman," Zarya corrected. 

That's right! Lynx didn't know about that until now! Maybe that's why Katya wanted to seek Lynx out, so the two of them could work together?

"She threatened Kat-- Chairman Volskaya. She threatened Russia," she went on, "I am searching the world for her,"

Lynx-17 stood there in silence as he processed the previous conversation. I took it as an opportunity to slowly glance over and peek inside the room carefully once more to try and get a better understanding at the scene that was playing out. The Omnic cupped his chin, thinking things over for what seemed like a eternity before he sighed, bringing up a holographic mugshot of Sombra. 

"Fine. She took down the head of a Mexican utility company, Lumarico," he began. 

_Lumarico. . . I remember seeing something like that on the news a couple months ago._

"Her calling card is a sugar skull, and Los Muertos has a large presence in Dorado," 

_Los Muertos? Dorado? Was she affiliated with the gang? Was Dorado where her base of operations was located outside of Talon?_

"Is that all?" Zarya questioned. 

"There's more, but I think you get the picture. When do we leave?" He asked in reply. 

"You're not coming with me," Zarya argued. 

_Looks like this is my que to leave. . ._

With the pair busy debating with each other, I quickly took my leave from the housing unit. I scanned the area to see if anyone saw me leave, and when the cost was clear, I ended the voice recording as I walked down the alleyway. 

"Alright, time to get this Intel to Sombra," I muttered to myself. "Here's hoping this is enough--!"

"Hope!"

I yelped, startled as I jumped back and nearly fell butt first onto the sidewalk if it wasn't for Lucio reaching over and catching me. Winston stood near him, surprised by my outburst. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry about that," Lucio apologized. "We didn't mean to scare you,"

"I-I-It's okay," I stuttered with assurance as I calmed myself down, Lucio moving his hands away from my arms and leaving one on my shoulder. "You guys really caught me by surprise there,"

"You've been out for almost an hour by yourself, I got worried thinking you got lost," Winston explained, his eyes filled relief knowing that I was alright. 

"We were about to head out and come look for you and-- BAM!" Lucio's eyes widened as he waved his hands in the air making a gunshot sound with his mouth. "Here you are!"

"I'm sorry if I made you all worried," I apologized, holding my hands together. glancing down at the sidewalk momentarily before returning my gaze to the pair. "I was out getting some air after I wasn't feeling well last night."

"Are you feeling any better?" Lucio asked with concern. 

I nodded my head in reply, watching Lucio smile in content before he moved his hand away from my shoulder. It was like what warmth was there was gone now, and I longed to feel his touch again. 

"That's good," he sighed with relief. "We still got a bit of work to do, so we all need to give it our all, got it?"

I grinned at the man as I gave him a thumbs up. "Got it,"

"Now that you're back, Hope, let's get inside," Winston suggested as he lead the charge back inside the hotel just a few blocks away. 

As they walked, Lucio looked over at me, "Hey," he lowered his voice as his head inched closer to mine, "You still up for tomorrow morning?"

My smile brightened. "Of course I am!"

"Excellent!" He beamed. "Head out 9am?"

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed. 

Lucio chuckled before grinning in my direction, giving me a wink. "It's a date,"

"Didn't we establish that earlier this morning?" I recalled with a tease.

"Yes, but now it's official," He stated. 

"I suppose I can't argue with that logic," I shrugged with a laugh. 

"Let's crack enough of this case tonight so we can enjoy ourselves tomorrow then," Lucio persuaded. "Sound good?"

"Deal," I smiled as the three of us entered the hotel and as we came upon the elevators, I couldn't help but feel a bit of eagerness and agitation in my soul. 

I have what I need now. I just need to find the right time to message Sombra, and save my brother. 

********

A well built adult male with smashing white hair sucker punched a Talon soldier square in the face, cracking the enemy's mask as he collapsed to the floor. 

The vigilante, known world wide as the mysterious Soldier: 76 (if is wasn't already obvious with the giant red 76 on the back of his jacket), heavily breathed in and out, regaining his composure as he scanned the ground below him, looking at the 5 Talon operatives he had taken out all on his own. 

He knelt down next to the body he had just taken out, searching his uniform for something. Something important, his current mission objective. Lately there's been a surge of chatter within Talon according to his sources. Something about some sort of Project that they were preparing for. 

_There!_

He reached into a pocket and pulled out a USB drive. This was it. 

"Objective secured," he spoke, his voice low and harsh. 

"I've got your back, Jack," a woman's voice with an Arabic accent replied through a com-link. "Rendezvous at my position, quickly," 

"Roger that," he acknowledged. 

Slipping the USB into his pant pocket, Solider:76 picked up his gun from the ground as he scurried away from the bodies, ducking over in an alley way as he sprinted through the dark corners of the tiny village of Abba, just a few miles away from the rich city of Oasis. 

He came by a street and after making sure the coast was clear, he ran across it, ducking into a abandon building as he carefully shut and locked the door behind him. The room was nearly pitch black with a single lantern currently lit in the top right corner of the room. Blankets and sleeping bags were at the other corner, along with some pillows and a tiny kitchen with a tea set. At the center of the room was a computer station, the screen lit up with articles of various sightings of the vigilante. 

"Ana?" The man called quietly. 

"I'm here, Jack,"

A womanly figure snuck its way into the building through a hole in the ceiling, climbing down a pile of wooden cargo boxes before landing to the floor and stepping out into the light. She wore dark blue and black robes with a grenade belt across her torso and a strange mask over her face with a blue upside down triangular like visor. In her hand she carried a sniper rifle.  

"Were we followed?" He questioned. 

The woman shook her head as she removed her mask, revealing an elderly woman in her late 50's, perhaps early 60's. An eye patch covered her right eye and you could just see her white crystal hair. "We're in the clear,"

"Good," Soldier:76 walked over to the computer station as Ana followed close behind him. He took a seat, setting his gun aside before removing his own mask, revealing his blue eyes and a scar that stretched across his face. 

Pulling the USB out, he inserted it into the computer. A warning sign originally appeared, but quickly opening a anti-virus program and running the sequence, Soldier:76 was able to by-pass it and unlock the contents of the drive. 

"You're in," Ana beamed, leaning in closer. "What are they up to this time?"

"Let's find out," 

Jack searched through every single file. Most of the items inside were things they already discovered before hand; Nothing new. That was until they came across the final file in the drive. 

**"Project: Disciple".**

"Is that. . . what I think it is?" Ana spoke after a brief pause, looking over at Jack. 

The man hovered the mouse over the file, almost hesitant to open it before he finally clicked on it. Dozens of documents, pdf. files, videos, and images littered the screen. It was almost too much for the pair to handle. Their eyes never steered away from the screen. They recognized every single bit of data. 

"It is--!" Ana began, catching her breath as Jack suddenly sat up from his chair. "Jack?!"

Jack began to pace nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "This can't be right. Project Disciple was shut down, we made sure of that!"

"I know, Jack, I was there," Ana recalled. 

"They only way they could restart the project is that if--" Jack suddenly froze, a light bulb going off in his mind. "Oh GOD. . ." 

"Jack, what is it?" Ana pestered, stepping closer to the man. 

"It's them," Jack realized as he turned and faced Ana. "They found them, Ana. They found the Ivery's." 

"Impossible! They've been off of Talon's radar for years since they left Overwatch," Ana stated. 

"Somehow, someway, they've discovered that they're still out there somewhere, and they're in danger," Jack spoke, his mind racing. "Ana, we have to find Joseph and warn him," 

"We?" the woman repeated, seeming skeptical.  

"Yes,  **we,** " Jack stated as he stomped back to get his gun.  

"But what about the others? Reinhardt? Surely, they can help us project Joseph and his family," Ana attempted to reason with the man but Jack shook his head. 

"Ever since Winston initiated the Recall, Overwatch has been in the spotlight for the last couple of weeks now, especially so with the debate of whether or not of it becoming legal again," Jack explained. "It'd just leave them out in the open. It has to be us Ana, just us," 

"Jack, I've never seen you so stressed before," Ana's voice wavered with concern. "Are you sure---"

"It's just--!" Jack rose his voice before it cracked, a hiccup in his throat. Tears began to form in his eyes as his gaze turned to face Ana. "I don't want Joseph to meet the same fate of his parents. I can't go through that again. . ." 

"Jack. . ." Ana stepped closer to the man, wrapping her arms around him in a needed embrace. "It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself,"

The pair stayed in this position for a few minutes before Jack moved away from the hug, wiping his eyes as he took a steady breath. "Will you help me with this, Ana?"

". . . You know I'll always have your back, Jack," Ana nodded. "But we're going to need backup. . ."

"Do you have it ready?" Jack questioned.

Ana reached down into her pocket, pulling out an envelope with a name written on the front.  **"Fareeha"**. 

"Alright, pack your things," Jack commanded as he walked back over to the computer, ejecting the USB. "We move out to Cairo in the morning,"  


	26. Prepare Your Defenses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and the others learn some new revelations about the Talon activities in Europe. Hope confronts Sombra with the intel, and Hanzo begins to suspect something is up with Miss Ivery. . .

The day came to an end finding one new lead on Talon's whereabouts. Jesse and Hanzo gave the group a call in the early evening to update them on their investigation, as they failed to originally get back to them yesterday. Winston gave the rest of the team back in Eichenwalde a call and connected them to the stealth teams com-link, so they too could hear their progress to keep them up to date. 

Before the hit on the Italian politician in Venice, Talon Agents Widowmaker and Doomfist were spotted in a casino in Monaco. The scientist speculates that Akande was most likely trying to gain some extra funds for Talon's operations, now that he's (and I'm quoting McCree on this) "Back in the saddle again." 

The table they were playing at was overseen by an Omnic named Maximillien. A quite wealthy Omnic, actually. Turns out he actually owns and runs the entire casino. Now it made sense as to why Doomfist would go to him to look for some money. Perhaps he's working with the organization as well?

Coincidentally the night after these events took place, the Omnic just vanished. When Jesse questioned one of the employees while trying his hand at a poker game, Max apparently took a "leave of absence" and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. 

But that's not all. Hanzo also added that it looked like some sort of brawl occurred the same night as the Talon Agent's visit, and the casino covered it up from the press! No thanks to their boss, most likely. After sweet talking their way around and bribing and "convincing" the right people to talk, it was revealed that someone else within Talon placed a hit on Doomfist. Apparently not everyone within the terrorist group is happy that the Nigerian muscle is out of prison. 

As the group talked, I glanced down at my communicator to check the time. 9:30pm. I felt as if I should have reported my findings to Sombra hours ago, but I couldn't find the right time with working with the others all afternoon. All I have to do is send if off and my Dave will be saved. I just need to try and calm down and not draw attention to myself. 

"Infighting within their own ranks? That's a first for them. . ." Genji commented. 

"It does sound quite puzzling to say the least," Winston agreed. 

"Would something like this be a good thing?" I spoke up, sitting on the couch in between Lucio and Genji. "I mean, let them crumble on their own and do the work for us?"

"Maybe, but plans like that can go south pretty quickly," McCree reminded gravely, leaning back against the head-rest of his bed, Hanzo sitting on a chair closer to the video feed screen. "Does Blackwatch's  _Uprising_ ring any bells?"

I gulped nervously, ducking my head with a mumble, "Forget I said anything then. . ."

I felt a sudden warmth linger along my left shoulder. Glancing up, I discovered Lucio placed his hand there as a sympathetic gesture, nodding at me with a small smile.  _Don't worry, it's all good!_ At least that's what I think he was trying to say, anyway. 

It was quiet, barely picked up by the microphone feed of the call. But I could have sworn I heard Hanzo hum? Or maybe it was a sigh? 

And why did I get the feeling that it was directed at me?

"I know you didn't mean anything by it, Hope," Jesse spoke reassuringly. "All I'm saying is that we should keep our eyes open and listening ears ready," 

The conversation ended with Hanzo and Jesse saying that'd still be going to Venice and investigate the Politician's murder. They also thank Lucio for seeking out a connection of his, a fashion designer. Thanks to him, she hooked up the pair some suits and proper attire for their stay in order to help them blend in. 

I gotta hand it to her, they looked pretty dang fine. Hanzo wore a beautiful navy blue suit, his tie was lose and white dress shirt unbuttoned in order to try and battle the Monaco heat. Jesse sported a warm baize coloured suit with a white v-neck t-shirt and brown dress shoes. 

It was kinda weird not seeing Jesse wear his cowboy boots and spurs. Not to mention his precious hat. 

"With the two of us travelling to Venice, we will be arriving back in Eichenwalde later than we originally planned," Hanzo spoke up in advisement. 

"Not a problem, Agent Shimada," Winston acknowledged. "You two stay safe out there, and give any of us a call if something goes wrong,"

"No problemo," McCree saluted. "We out," 

The video feed cut out as the giant holographic screen powered down. Winston sighed heavily as he scratched his head with a yawn. "I'll report our friends to the N.S.F. I do believe it's about time we all got some rest for the night. Good work everyone,"

Everyone said their goodbyes, Winston seeing off Lucio and Reinhardt back to their hotel room. I wished Genji and his master goodnight before retreating to my room, carefully shutting the door and locking it behind me. I made a run for the bathroom, shutting the door behind me as I put the seat covering and sat on the toilet. 

When I was certain the coast was clear, I activated my communicator and waited for Sombra to call. The seconds that ticked by agitated me to no end. I could hear my heart pounding inside my chest. 

"Come on, come on," I mumbled with a hiss.

Finally, the private caller ID appeared and I answered it without hesitation. The screen glitched and lo and behold, the Sombra sugar skull appeared. 

"How did it go, Ivery?"

"I got your intel," I replied sternly. 

"Perfecto! Now was that so hard?" She teased. 

"Just take it and go," I insisted with a glare. 

"Fine, fine, send it over," she ordered. 

I attached the voice recording file and sent it as a attachment to the number. 

"Thank you very much!" Sombra purred.

I could totally hear the smirk on her face. 

"And my brother? We had a deal, remember?" I reminded.

"Relax, I remember! I always keep my promises, Ivery," She reassured. 

A holographic screen appeared next to the skull. It was the video feed of Widowmaker's scope peering over at the window of my brother's apartment. 

"Hey, Widow!" Sombra called. "The jobs done, fall back for now,"

"Very well," The assassin responded in her thick French accent. 

I watched as the scope zoomed out and away from the window, the camera lens detaching from the scope as I saw a elegant blue hand reach over and ended the feed. 

"Told you!" Sombra's voice rang in the receiver. 

"So jobs done, we can go our separate ways then?" I asked, my voice sounding a tad desperate. 

"Yep. . . for now," she answered with a snicker. 

"What?!" I yelped. 

I instantly covered my mouth, trying not to scream. I prayed to GOD that Genji or Zenyatta didn't hear me. The last thing I wanted was for them to see the Sombra skull coming from my communicator and thinking I was working with the enemy. 

. . . Which technically speaking, I kinda am. 

"Relax, that won't be for another while," she assured me. "But, hey! Tell you what, for doing such a good job, I'll give you something very special,"

"Y-Y-Yeah? What's that?" I was terrified to ask. 

"You'll see soon enough. Give me some time to get it ready," Sombra replied. "Until then, see you later!"

The call ended as the skull vanished from my feed, the communicator resetting itself. I slouched in my chair, rubbing my forehead to clear the sweat off of me. The nightmare was finally over. Well. . . one of them anyways. 

_Wait, Dave--!_

I dashed out of the bathroom, rummaging around my bedroom drawer for my phone. When I found it, I swear I've never typed a phone number so fast in my entire life. I pressed the call button and as the phone rang in my ear, I held my breath waiting for the click. 

_Click!_

"Hello?"

"Dave, hey!" I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. 

"H-Hey, Hope, are you alright?" He asked. 

I didn't think I'd be so happy to hear his voice. Wiping a tear out of my eye, I calmed myself before replying. "Y-Yeah, I just-- haven't heard from you in a while. I thought I'd check in and say hi," 

"Oh, well, I'm good! Everything's pretty great down here," He spoke with a chuckle. 

"That's good to hear," I smiled.

"Hey sis, can I call you back? The band and I are actually about to put on a show," he spoke after a short delay, muffled sounds of instruments tuning could be heard in the background. 

"Oh! Yeah, no problem," I giggled, rubbing the back of my head. 

"Great! Talk to you later," The boy spoke in farewell before hanging up the call. 

I set the phone down on my lap. I stood there for a solid minute, just staring into space before I fell back and collapsed on my bed. I finally felt like I could be at ease now. 

********

Hanzo Shimada hanged up the video call. Darkness quickly filled the room as he leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard gently as his mind became occupied with a single thought. 

_Why was Hope acting strangely?_

"What's wrong there, Hanzo?" McCree spoke up. 

Hanzo glanced over to watch Jesse stand up from his spot on the end, stretching his arms before working on undressing him his suit. 

"I am concerned there may be something wrong with Hope," The Japanese man spoke honestly. 

"Hmm?" Jesse's eyebrows perked up as he tossed his coat to the side. "It wasn't something I said, was it?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Hanzo quickly waved that theory off. "I just. . . have this feeling that something was troubling her," 

"Like what?" Jesse questioned as he worked on removing his shirt, his 6 pack abs and hairy chest soon revealing themselves to the archer who's cheeks lightly blushed at the sight before turning away to give his partner a bit of privacy. 

"I called Agent Lucio the other day. He mentioned that during their visit to the N.S.F., it appears the hacker who created the Sombra Protocol may have hacked Hope's communicator," Hanzo explained. "They left a message for her. They know her name,"

Jesse hummed in dismay as he removed his pants. They dropped to the floor as he moved away from their place, hands to his hips as he processed the information. "That doesn't sound good,"

"Not in the slightest," Hanzo agreed with a nod. 

"Does Winston know? Does anyone else other than Santos know about it?" Jesse asked as he neared the archer. 

"If they do, they haven't said anything about it," Hanzo shook his head. "I think Agent's Ivery and Santos may be keeping this a secret," 

"That does sound might troubling," Jesse frowned as the metal fingers of his cybernetic limb combed the locks of Hanzo's hair. "You want me to give her a call and see what's up?"

"No, it's alright," Hanzo refused, looking up at the cowboy. "If Ivery wishes to talk, she will when ready," 

"You got it partner," Jesse acknowledged before leaning down and placing a kiss on the top of Hanzo's head. 

The elder Shimada chuckled, shooing the cowboy away. "Go and get some rest. I won't be long,"

Jesse grinned over at Hanzo as he pulled away. "Don't stay up too late,"

Hanzo smirked as he watched Jesse walk back over to pick up and put away his pants before retiring for the night. The archer leaned back into his chair, taking a deep breath in and out before glancing over at his own communicator, eyeing an open tab of text messages between himself and his brother. 

"Perhaps Genji is right," he thought to himself. "It would be best if she learned how to defend herself," 

For Hanzo suspected that what Hope was feeling during that call, was only the beginning of something else that was coming. Something big, and something ugly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest apologies for the late update everyone, and my apologies for it not being as long as the usual chapters. I finally finished fall semester two weeks ago which was delayed because of a month long strike, then I had last week off to relax and recharge and now I'm in winter semester of my college program. 
> 
> Updates will be late, but whenever I have free time, I promise to try my hardest to get them all done and ready for you guys! 
> 
> I hope this update is satisfactory enough and I promise to do better next time!


	27. Lucio II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope prepares for her date with Lucio. Meanwhile, Doomfist and Talon are preparing Project: Disciple by bringing in an old friend!

 

 

The sound of my phone's alarm woke me up the next morning. For the first time in the last few days I felt that I had finally gotten a decent amount of sleep. With everything that happened involving Sombra and my brother, sleep was the last thing on my mind. I really needed the recharge. 

But I must have overdone it when I glanced over at the clock upon powering off my alarm, to see that I had slept in 15 minutes passed my original wake up call! 

**"9: 15am"**

_"Head out at 9am? It's a date!"_

Date-- MY BREAKFAST DATE WITH LUCIO! 

"Oh, crap!" I yelped, nearly toppling out of my bed and collapsing to the floor. 

I sprinted for the bathroom, brushing my teeth and washing my face as quickly as I could before dashing back into the bedroom and desperately rummaging through the dresser looking for something to wear. 

I didn't want to keep Lucio waiting any longer, other wise I would have went with something a bit nicer to wear. I slipped on a white tank top with my signature black leather jacket over top, green camo pants and sneakers before grabbing my phone with a hairbrush and hairband before leaving the room. 

Trying to brush my hair as I walked through the living room, it looked like Genji was the only one up. He sat in his usual spot at the kitchen counter, mask removed as he drank his morning tea. 

"Hey, Genji!" I greeted quickly. 

"Good morning, Miss I--" Genji glanced up his drink to see me multi-tasking across the room. "Ivery?!"

"I'm late, gotta run, people to see!" I squeaked. 

But upon turning a corner, I messed up my footing and fell forward. A scream escaped my lips as I instantly shut my eyes. 

"Hope!" Genji yelped.

My transcendence to the floor suddenly seized as I felt something grab my left wrist. I opened my eyes and turned my head to see that Genji had discarded his tea in order to come help me, the pupils of his eyes enlarged with a hint of fear. 

I laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension of nearly embarrassing myself. "Thanks. . ."

"First of all; Are you alright?" He asked with concern as he pulled me back up to my two feet. 

I took a moment to compose myself, catching my breath before answering with a nod. 

"Good, and second of all; The person you're seeing this morning wouldn't happen to be Lucio, would it?" He questioned, arms crossing his metal chest with a sly grin on his face. 

I now understood why Angela told me he was a hit with the ladies (and some dudes) during his early days in the Shimada Clan. Not gonna lie, that smirk. . . wow! 

My cheeks blushed a bright pink as I lowered my hands, gaze shifting to the floor slightly. "How did you know?"

"I like to study people. I sensed that there was some sort of energy sparking between the two of you," he explained, moving his hands to his hips as he raised a brow in my direction. "That, and Lucio texted me earlier asking where you were,"

"Really? Shoot, I should get down there," I hissed, face palming. "I don't want him to think I'm standing him up,"

I was about to head for the door when Genji caught me again, "Wait," I stopped and turned to face him again as he pointed at my head. "What about your hair?"

"Huh?" Confused, I glanced over at my reflection through the glass window next to us, seeing that I wasn't even close to getting it ready. "Oh, come on!"

"Here, let me help," Genji offered, extending his hand forward. 

I was perplexed, having no idea what was going on. He motioned his hand, commanding me to hand over my items. I gave him the brush and the hair band as he walked behind me, brushing my hair while with his free hand, gently used his metal fingers to comb out any tangled strands. 

"This is. . . unexpected?" I paused momentarily. I was caught by surprise by Genji's behavior just now, I had no idea what to say to him. 

"I used to help Hanzo with his hair when we were younger," Genji explained as I could hear the smile on his face. "It was part of our brotherly bounding time aside from our ninja training," 

I smiled at the thought. I could totally picture two young Shimada brothers, Genji sitting on a couch while Hanzo sat on the floor in front of him as Genji fixed up his hair, his phone caught between his shoulder and cheekbone as he explained to his friends that he was ditching the club and spending quality time with his brother. 

Genji gently grasped my hair, lifting it up as he worked on making a pony tail with the hairband. "There, now you are ready,"

I turned around to face the Cyborg ninja, a bright smile along my lips as I bowed my head in gratitude. "Thank you, Genji,"

"It was no problem," he chuckled, bowing his head in return. 

Regaining my composer, I glanced over at the time again, having a minor heart attack that I should already be down in the lobby to meet up with Lucio 20 minutes ago--!

"I should get going, thanks again!" I waved goodbye to the young Shimada Brother as I walked passed him, once more heading towards the door. 

"Hang on, Hope, before you go," Genji called, catching my attention as my hand just barely touched the door handle. "Can I ask you something?"

I knew Genji wasn't doing this on purpose, but I just wanted to get down to the lobby right this second! I sucked in a quick breath to contain my frustration before glancing over at the man. "Yes?"

"Are you sure you are feeling alright?" He asked. "Hanzo texted me last night. He mentioned something about you appearing distracted or distraught about something during the meeting,"

_Oh shoot. . ._

That hum. . . that stare. . . Hanzo really was directing that at me. Did he figure out I was trying to hide this secret? 

_"Until we meet again, Ivery"_

Sombra's laughter echoed in my mind along with the loud thumping of my heart pounding my ear drums. My grip on the door handle tightened. "Um. . ." 

"Hope?" Genji's voice lowered as he took a step closer towards me. "You can talk to me, you know that?"

I nodded my head slowly before shaking out the hacker's laughter out of my head. I put on a small smile as I finally looked up and met the cyborg's gaze. "I'm okay, Genji, just a little stressed is all,"

"Oh, well," his shoulders relaxed a little as he smiled softly in return. "Try to have fun then, but not too much fun, alright?"

I giggled in reply. "Sure! Later, Genji!"

At last we said our final goodbyes as I left the room. Once in the hall, I ran as fast as I could. I was so impatient with myself I didn't bother waiting for the next elevator. I found the nearest stairwell and ran down it as quickly as I could. Which I knew by doing so I was just putting myself in danger of falling over again and this time I wouldn't have a cyborg ninja to save me from twisting my ankle. 

After what seemed like ages, I finally made it to the bottom floor; The lobby. I took a quick moment to catch my breath and fix up my jacket and pony tail before stepping out into the room. The lobby was fairly busy for this morning. I took a look around and I spotted the familiar DJ waiting just outside the doors. He appeared nervous, his arms crossed over his chest as he glanced down at his watch every half second.

Lucio wore his usual attire, a green tank top with his frog mascot logo on the front, blue shorts and Nike sneakers. Instead of having his hair hanged up though, it appeared he had his hair loosened up, his hand just falling pass his shoulders with giant yellow beads woven into the ends of his hair strains. 

I was so entranced by it, I didn't even realize that I had walked all the way across the lobby and out the door and stopped next to him until he jumped upon my arrival. 

"Hope, hey! There you are, I was getting worried," he breathed a sigh of relief. 

"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting," I apologized, shaking my head. "My alarm didn't wake me up properly,"

"It's all good! Our reservation isn't for another few minutes and we still got some time to--- whoa. . ." Lucio slowed his speech as he fully set his gaze in my direction. 

"Lucio? Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's just. . . you look great," He complimented, a smile forming on his lips as he nervously shoved his hands into his pockets. 

"Really?" I perked up, my eyes sparkling. 

"Yeah, I mean, I can totally see why McCree won't stop talking about your leather jacket obsession. It looks amazing on you," He went on, his smile growing. 

"You think so?"

He grinned, mustering up the courage to move his hands out of his pockets and place them on my shoulders. He stared directly into my eyes and spoke, "I know so,"

Those warm and fluffy feelings returned to my insides again as a dark shaded blush took form on my cheeks as I giggled in response, wanting to hide my face. 

Seeming proud of himself, Lucio stepped back, moving to his side as he extended his arm towards me, offering me to take it. "Now then, shall we feast?"

I laughed as I reached out and wrapped both of my arms around his, smiling up at his face as we began our walk. "We shall,"

*********

As soon as Hope left the room, Genji's shoulders slacked as he sighed. Stepping over to the side, he cupped his forehead with his hand, rubbing his temples as he studied the look on her face before she left. 

_She's hiding something. . ._

He reached over to his communicator, bringing up his message tab between himself and his brother. 

**"Hanzo, I believe you were right about Hope. Something is troubling her. I fear if we don't intervene and try to help her, she could collapse at any moment and cause trouble for us all,"**

*********

The sun was beginning to set, their rays shining into the glass windows and showing off a beautiful aura over the city of Oasis. Akande sat patiently in one of the many empty passenger seats of a Talon jet, looking out the window as he overlooked the technological complex. More specifically, it's University. It was considered to be one of the most, if not the best, school on the planet. 

The black jet soared across the sky, coming upon a landing pad that was stationed a top of a large pillar, the surface surrounded by a small inner circle filled with water and a bridge that connected the pillar to a balcony that led to a side entrance into the University. VIP guests only. 

To greet the Talon agent was two security guards and one of the head Ministers of Oasis. Anya Al-Shahrani, the Minister of Geology. She wore a beautiful golden summer dress with a white lab coat over top with matching black high heeled shoes. With dark skin and long silky black hair down to her waist, you would have mistaken her for Arabic royalty, she was that stunning. 

The back cargo door fell open as Akande exited the vehicle, sporting a white dress shirt with a black dress coat and matching pants and shoes, sunglasses shielding his eyes from the bright sun. 

"Mr. Ogundimu, what a surprise," Anya greeted, bowing her head. 

The Talon agent glanced back at two of his assigned "bodyguards" standing by the door. He signaled them to stand down before turning his attention over to the Minister. 

"It has been a while since we last spoke," Akande smiled in return, removing his glasses to meet her gaze. "How is your family?"

"They are well, thank you," She nodded her head. "But I know you have not come for small talk," 

"Is she still here?" Doomfist questioned. 

"Ms. O'Deorain is in her study located in the Biology Wing," Anya directed. "Do you require an escort?"

"No, I'm familiar with how to get there," Akande waved off the guards as they stood aside.

"Very well," Anya signaled the man to follow her across the bridge as the guards stayed back to guard the jet. "All the students in the Wing have been evacuated and given the morning off from their classes due to a  _chemical breach_ in one of the labs. You'll only have a few minutes with her before security arrives to investigate," 

"How long exactly?" Doomfist questioned. 

"15 minutes at most," Anya stated as she opened the door for the man. "I suggest you hurry and make this quick,"

"Don't I always?" Akande teased with a grin before proceeded inside the Wing, Anya shutting the door behind him. 

It had been a long while since the last time Akande set foot in this building. During his martial art tournament days in his youth, he came here once to compete in a competition against the Middle East's greatest young fighters. He even traveled here for his education, taking a series of advance robotics and human anatomy classes in order to help prepare himself for taking over his family's prosthetic-technology company.

As he walked down a hallway, passing by a giant window that overlooked a auditorium lecture hall just next to the main plaza of the campus, he glanced up to see a hovering security drone. Its neon blue lightning powered down, the single optic in place not scanning the area around it. Anya did keep her word in disabling security after all. It appeared there was no need to contact Sombra to take care of that in the first place, but Akanda kept her on stand by with his cell phone, slipped away in his pant pocket in cause of an emergency. 

After exiting the plaza and across the campus guardian, he entered the Biology Wing's Faculty building, stopping in front of a giant glass doorway. It sensed his presence, the door pulling up automatically as it allowed the man passage into the lab. 

The floor had beige coloured tiles with light brown painted walls. There were two computer stations at the center of the room and one on each wall. Two blackboards could be seen at the back of the room, both cleaned and not covered in equations or notes. At the main computer station closest to the entrance, a giant black orb covered in some sort of "gewy" substance was hovering in the air as two drones circled it, occasionally scanning it. 

Akande stepped towards it, admiring the display for a brief moment. The black substance almost reminded the man of Reaper's fade ability, or as its creator liked to call it, "Shadow Step". Almost. 

"Are you finished?" A female voice spoke up, a thick Irish accent piercing his ears. 

Speaking of its creator. . .

"I was just simply admiring your work, Ms. O'Deorain," Doomfist complimented. 

He glanced over in the direction of the voice, finding the woman at the second central computer station. Moira O'Deorain was dressed in her Oasis Minister uniform. She dawned a white robe with purple LED lighting along her shoulders, stomach, the back tips of the robe and shoes. A pair of wrist gauntlets, the Oasis symbol on her chest (and hovered as a holographic image over both her shoulders), spiral earrings, a white metal backpack, and finally a white helmet that due to the lightning implemented in it, it made her normal red hair appear blonde. 

"It's been years, Akande," She greeted, her eyes never tearing away from her computer. "How was prison?"

"The usual barbarism," Akande replied as he neared the woman. "I see you haven't changed much since I last saw you. Always focusing on your work?"

"The Ministers of Oasis have been kind to me in offering this space and their resources to continue my study," Moira explained whilst crunching some numbers on her keyboard. "After tensions were growing within our little organization after you went to Prison and our Director went off the radar, I wasn't sure where else to turn to," 

"Understandable," Akande nodded. 

"This is my home now. . . as much as any other." 

"You made the right choice," Doomfist reassured. "After all, you are a Minister now from the looks of things?"

"There were debates, regarding my presence in Blackwatch and those pee-brained idiots who were too frightened to actually push the boundaries of science and find actual results like I did," the woman sighed, shaking her head. "But Anya and the others pulled through for me, and now I can continue my work in peace,"

"Whatever you are working on, O'Deorain, I suggest you put it on hold," Doomfist advised. 

"Oh? What are you on about?" Moira turned in her chair, facing the Nigerian. 

"Director Agrippa has resurfaced, and with her," Akande reached inside his jacket, pulling out a folder hidden away in a secret pocket. "This," 

He handed Moira the folder as the woman pushed aside her previous work and set it down on the table to review it up close.

"Project: Disciple?" She gasped, her head zipped back to Akande's gaze as her eyes pleaded for a confirmation. 

"It's been reactivated after the meeting in Venice," He spoke. 

"How peculiar. . ." she mumbled, examining the pages as she slowly stood up from her chair. "But I thought it was discontinued after- - -"

"After the Ivery's left? You are correct," Akande recalled. "It was shutdown after our agents were unable to determine Joseph and his family's location shortly after they left Overwatch,"

"That was after Jeffery's assassination in Jerusalem, correct?" She asked for confirmation. 

He nodded his head in reply as the woman averted her gaze from the folder, shutting it for a brief moment as she shook her head. "So, what are we working with here? If Project: Disciple is continuing then we're going to need our test subjects.  **Specific** test subjects," 

"There has been a change of plans," Akande explained. "The Director says that you would agree to the change," 

Moira scoffed, rolling her eyes as Akande reminded himself that one orb was blue while the other was red. "You're a chancer. If the test subjects aren't Joseph and his wife, then who?!" 

Doomfist pulled out his phone, opening the photo album as he brought up two images. Two young adults around their mid 20's. One was a social media profile picture of a boy, the other was a camera surveillance photo of a girl. 

"Their children," He grinned. 

"Child **ren**?" Moira repeated as she examined the photos. "I thought they only had son?"

"The daughter was born a year after Joseph deserted Overwatch," Doomfist explained, slipping the phone back into his pocket before checking the time on the device. 

He has 7 minutes remaining until security arrives. 

"Well. . . if they are his children, and they have similar genetic coding as their father and their bodies healthy enough," 

Moira rambled as she sat back down in her chair, tapping the page of the new data with he finger as a holographic version of it appeared in thin air. She dragged it over to the monitor where the image flashed and appeared on screen. Glancing over at the recorded stats of the subjects, she implemented the numbers, replacing the old test subjects with the new ones. 

The computer beeped, green dots appearing on all scans. 

"Yes, this is remarkable! The boys levels are even stronger than his father, and the girl's statistics are quite promising," She smiled wickedly. 

"I take it you are impressed?" Akande grinned. 

Moira sat in her chair for a few moments before shutting the folder once more, turning her body completely to face Akande. "When does Director Agrippa wish for me to return to headquarters?"

"Effective immediately," Akande stated. 

". . . Give me 5 minutes to pack my things," she spoke. 

"You have 3," Akande commanded. 

The pair split off, Moira gathering her supplies and everything else she needed as Akande made his way back to the jet. Anya and her guards were no longer present at the launch pad, and after waiting 3 minutes on the dot, Moira emerged from the building. Akande assisted her into the jet, and the Talon agents flew off into the sky just as the security drones powered back online and the local firefighters arrived on the scene.   

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE GO, EXTRA LONG CHAPTER LIKE I PROMISED!!! xD


	28. Lucio III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope's date with Lucio doesn't go as planned, as she finally admits the truth of her deal with Sombra.

The restaurant that Lucio booked our reservation at was only a short walk away, just a couple blocks down from the hotel. But to me, it almost felt like a eternity. 

During the walk, I couldn't help but glance around at my surroundings. I noticed the looks on people's faces, surprised to see the famous Lucio out and about, walking the streets of Numbani. But that was only the half of it. 

"OMG, it's Lucio!"

"I've heard he's been in town for all week!"

"Who's that girl with him?"

"Are they going out?"

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in her position right now!"

 _Oh my god, they're gossiping about us!_ My thoughts went racing within my mind as my head sank down to my shoulders, moving just an inch close to Lucio, searching for some sort of protection. The last thing I wanted was to be the cause of some rumor and get Lucio caught up with paparazzi and untrue and unnecessary drama. It's just one date, we're not even a couple! 

"Um, Lucio?" I glanced over his way, my voice lowered to a whisper. 

"Hmm?" He perked up, looking over at me before up at the crowd, noticing all the stares and awes. 

"We haven't even gotten to the restaurant and I'm already getting an awkward vibe," I admitted, shaking my head as my hold on his arm tightened ever so slightly. "I don't want to cause any unwanted drama in your direction, Lucio. . ."

"What, them? Nah," He waved it off with a goofy grin. "I hear stuff like that all the time when I go out with friends,"

"You mean you're not bothered by it?" I questioned with surprise as I stopped in my tracks, Lucio halting beside me. 

He shook his head reassuringly before meeting my gaze once more, "Let them talk. In the end, my attention will be focused on you and only you this morning. Don't worry about them,"

The pupils of my eyes widened as my breath hitched, mouth gaped open ever so slightly as I felt my cheeks warm up. 

_Hope Ivery.exe has stopped working._

Lucio couldn't help but chuckle at my reaction before waving his hand over my face. "Earth to Hope! You gonna be alright?"

"Huh?!" I snapped out of my trance, shaking my head furiously as my cheeks burned a shade darker than before. "Y-Y-Yeah, I'll be fine," 

Lucio smirked as he waved his free hand forward, motioning for them to continue our walk. I nodded in agreement and together we ventured further down the street until we came across the restaurant Lucio was talking about. Chez Tajine, a popular North African/Arabic restaurant. 

The hostess at the front desk greeted us upon arrival with a bright smile. She led us to a table up on the second floor balcony that overlooked the plaza. The view reminded me of the time Jesse and I were undercover at that Starbucks just a week or two ago. Now that I thought about it, it's been absolutely mind blowing with everything that's happened recently. 

Lucio and I took our seats, my seat just off to the side allowing me to get a view of the plaza and the inside of the restaurant. The bar could be seen close by, along with a set of holographic TV's hovering in the air, displaying the morning reports of Atlas News.  

"I'll get you both some water while you take a look at the menu," the Hostess prompt before leaving the table. 

"So," I drummed my fingers against the leather casing of the menu nervously as I glanced up at the Brazilian. "Anything you recommend?" 

"My personal favourite is their fruit smoothies, they're to die for!" He smiled brightly, pointing out the different flavors. 

I couldn't help but giggle as I listened to his cute rambling, but as I did, something on the holo-vid caught my attention. Averting my gaze ever so slightly from Lucio, I glanced over to a  **BREAKING NEWS** report being shown on Atlas News. 

The face of the news reporter appeared on screen as she spoke, "Local police are on high alert after reported sightings of the infamous vigilante  _Soldier: 76_ was spotted in the village of Abba, Iraq, late last night," 

_Soldier:76? Where have I heard that name before?_

"Hope?" 

I flinched, shaking my head as my attention turned back to Lucio. He seemed perplexed. "You seemed to space out for a second there,"

"I'm sorry about that Lucio," I sincerely apologized. "Truth be told, the news caught my attention,"

He raised a brow in my direction before turning his body towards the holo-vid, his eyes widening upon seeing the report. "Oh shoot, no way! I've heard of this guy!" 

"You have?" I questioned.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, rumour has it he may have been a former Overwatch agent, trying to figure out what caused that explosion at Swiss HQ,"

"Seriously? Do you think Winston or Angela might know him?" I asked curiously, leaning forward against the table with my arms crossed.

Lucio shrugged in defeat. "No idea. If they do know him, then they haven't mentioned anything about bringing this guy in and letting him join up with us,"

I hummed in disapproval, glancing down at the menu for a moment, briefly admiring the description of the Strawberry Banana Smoothie, muttering to myself that I may order that beverage before my gaze returned to the news report. I did watched a lot of Overwatch news growing up. Maybe if they show the guys face, I might faintly recognize him in some way? 

"Authorities also apprehend 5 Talon operatives and have all been sentenced to jail time. Witnesses speculate that Soldier: 76 fought against the Talon agents after reports of brawl like disturbances were recorded soon before the sighting. A security camera just managed to snap a grainy photo of the vigilante before he made his escape,"

Before the camera feed came up, the waitress came by take our orders. Lucio ordered us the smoothies before walking away. It looked like he was saying something to me, but what I saw next appear on the news feed completely caught my attention. 

The image popped up next to the news reporters face and I swear I heard my heart stop. The photo displayed a white haired male wearing a blue, white and black leather jacket with a black mask covering his mouth along with a red visor over his eyes. 

The same profile picture I saw on Lynx-17's map yesterday. 

Was this Soldier: 76 somehow connected to Reaper? Talon? 

. . . Sombra?

The pupils of my eyes shrank as I averted my gaze from the TV, the Mexican woman's cackle echoed in my head again.  _Everything can be hacked, and everyone. . ._

Flashbacks of first discovering the Sombra skull and Widowmaker spying on my brother filtered through my mind. The memories, still fresh and too painful to even think about, made me cringe as I hissed at the recollection, placing my hands on my forehead. 

_No, no, no! Not now!_

"Hey, Hope, are you okay?" 

The high pitched sound of my anxiety cancelled out as Lucio's voice got through to me, his voice calming me ever so slightly. Our drinks were at the table as the DJ has calmly shooed our waitress away as he was off his seat and kneeling beside me, one hand along my arm and the other caressing the side of my head. 

"What's going on? Are you still not feeling well from the other day?" He asked with concern. 

My eyes properly met his gaze, and it was then I realized that the look I was giving him would possibly make him think I was some sort of freak. "Yes-- well, no, it's kind of-- complicated," I stuttered. 

His hand along my arm snaked down and intertwined with my fingers, a look of sincerity plastered on his face. "Tell me," 

"I-- I--" 

_Don't--!_

"I don't deserve you," I spoke quickly. 

His eyes widened with surprise, appearing taken back at what I said. Heck, even I was. I just spit right out of my mouth! That's not what I even wanted to say in the first place. My mouth just took on a mind of it's own. 

"What?" He gaped, appearing confused. 

I shook my head, "No, what I mean is," I tried to move my hand away from his, feeling embarrassed and ashamed for what I said, but his hand held a firm grip on mine as he refused to let go. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon unless I started talking sense. 

"Talk to me, Ivery," he pleaded. 

I sighed, my head hanging low for a brief moment, "Lucio. . ." He moved his right hand down to my chin, gently lifting my head up to meet his gaze again. "I haven't been honest with you and the rest of the team,"

"What do you mean?" he asked calmly. 

"Remember back at N.S.F. Headquarters, when Sombra hacked my communicator?" I reminded.

He nodded his head in reply. 

My fingers tightened against his hold, reassuring myself that his support was still there before I spoke again, "That's not the only time it's happened," 

Lucio remained silent as his eyes slightly widened at the sudden revelation. His head tilted to the side, his thoughts elsewhere as he pondered something. 

 _This is it,_ I thought to myself,  _I've ruined my chance to spend some time with Lucio. Possible my only chance._

_. . . But maybe it's for the best._

"Do you want to get out of there?" He asked. "I think this is something the others should hear too, don't you think?" 

I nodded my head slowly, agreeing with the man. "It's like Hanzo said,  **lying doesn't suit well with me** ," 

He smiled softly in my direction before gently patting my head as he stood back up to his feet. He waved the waitress back over, asking if we could take the smoothies to go. We gathered our things, payed the bill and talked out of the restaurant. 

I felt a humiliating pulse in my stomach. I didn't to be near Lucio and any of my friends after admitting that I've been lying to them. 

But yet, once we set foot outside, Lucio came to my side as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close, closer than when we were leaving the hotel, as my head rested against his shoulder. 

"When we get back, tell them everything," he said. "We'll figure this out together," 

I tried so hard to fight back the tears after hearing that, and it was that moment I was reminded why I fell in love with Lucio in the first place. He cares. He cares so much for the people around him. He truly is too pure for this world. 

********

"And? Was she successful?" 

Director Agrippa interrogated Sombra in her office, the high ranking woman siting at her desk with Akande standing by her side. The Mexican hacker stood at the other side of the desk, faint bruises could be seen along her skin, and her costume was a slight mess. Other than that, the Talon agent appeared alive and well. 

"Her intel checked out," Sombra smirked. "After I received word that Miss Zaryanova was made aware of my presence in Dorado, she wasted no time in tracking me down. Ivery was highly resourceful," 

"And she wasn't caught in the act?" Akande asked for clarification. 

"She was as quiet as a mouse," Sombra giggled. She snapped her fingers, a purple holoscreen displaying various statistics appeared as she pushed it forward towards the directors face. "Here's an updated page of her abilities. Feel free to pass it over to Moira," 

"Thank you, Sombra," Agrippa smiled, grasping the digital file in her hands. She briefly looked it over before looking over at the Nigerian. "Is Moira settling in well?" 

"It's as if she never left," Doomfist smirked. "That reminds me; She wishes to see you later this afternoon to catch up over some tea,"

"Excellent, I do miss our long talks together," Agrippa beamed, the digital file vanishing and compressed into a USB drive as the woman passed it along to Doomfist. "Be a dear and pass this along to her for me?"

"Of course, Director," Akande obeyed. 

Grasping the drive, Doomfist ventured passed Sombra and out of the dark office space, just as a black floating puff of smoke soared passed him. A man in black robes with a white owl like skull mask materialized. 

"Gabe! There you are!" Sombra greeted brightly. "Did you miss me while I was gone?"

Reaper huffed, lightly stomping over towards the desk. "Hardly. . ."

Sombra scoffed, rolling her eyes as she peered over to Agrippa. "He totally did," 

Agrippa shook her head with a small smirk before averting her gaze over towards the Talon assassin. "What news do you bring, Reaper?"

"Widowmaker wanted me to inform you that she has successfully bought back Chateau Guillard," Reaper explained. "It's a tad run down, but with a little renovating, it will be ready for Project: Disciple," 

"Splendid!" Agrippa applauded. "Any problems with transaction?" 

"None. When you are available, Lacroix wants to take both you and Akande on a tour of the estate personally, to review renovation inspections," Reaper replied. "While I have your attention, there's something else I should inform you about as well,"

"What is it?"

Reaper didn't speak at first. He glanced over at Sombra, just staring at her. Even without the mask, you could sense his eyes peering over her body that sent chills down her spine. 

"Alright, I'll leave then," Sombra quipped as her cloaking activated and she vanished from the room. 

Reyes waited patiently a few seconds more, debating or not whether he was just being paranoid if Sombra actually left the room, before silent requesting the Director to follow him. The woman obliged, removing herself from her chair as she strut towards him, the pair walking side by side as they exited her office, slowly talking the halls of the classified Talon base. 

"It's Morrison and Amari, they're on the move again," 

"What happened?" She questioned. 

"Morrison took out our squad in Abba late last night," Reaper explained. "They've been imprisoned by local authorities, and we can now confirm that Jack has confiscated our USB drive from them," 

"If that's the case, then both of those fools are aware of Project: Disciple and our plans," Agrippa growled. 

"That is correct, ma'am," Reaper nodded. "Our Intel reports that they're headed for Cario," 

"Why on Earth would they be going there?" Agrippa questioned. "They've already been there once, why would they--- wait," 

They both stopped in their tracks, exchanging looks between the two. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?" 

"Amari's little brat," Agrippa huffed. "I never really did like her all that much. Always so nosey, getting into other peoples business," 

"Remind you of someone else you once knew?" Reaper teased. 

"You want to go after them?" Agrippa predicted, arms crossed over her chest. 

"That was my plan, yes," Reaper nodded. "But I wanted to run it by you. With Overwatch being recalled, there is a chance Amari's daughter might get in touch with them." 

"Intervene them then," Agrippa commanded. "If Fareeha is made aware of their presence, it means more trouble for us to deal with," 

"And if Overwatch and Hope Ivery intervene?" Reaper questioned. 

". . . Things aren't quite ready for Disciple to go underway yet," Agrippa shook her head. "Eliminate the Overwatch agents, but take Ivery alive. If she resists, do what you must, but we need her alive," 

"Understood," Reaper chuckled darkly. 

Agrippa smirked with a tease, waving the ghost off. "Well then, off with you," 

Reaper's form faded away as the black smoke swirled around the director before taking off down the hall, disappearing in the dark. 

*********

My nerves were on fire when we entered the hotel and took the elevator back to the suite. We entered the room to see everyone accounted for, as Lucio messaged Winston as we were leaving the restaurant. 

I told them everything. Beginning to end. How Sombra contacted me, gave me mission to tail Zarya and that if I didn't cooperate, my brother would be at the receiving end of the punishment. I even mentioned the so called 'reward' that Sombra would give to me in due time. What it's origins were, I had no idea, but I knew it was coming eventually. 

I sighed, rubbing my sweating hands together as I sat on the couch, Lucio and Zenyatta on either side of me as Genji, Winston, and Reinhardt stood around me. "That's it. That's what happened," 

The trio in front of me exchanged surprises glances between each other before the German tank was the first to speak up. "Hope, I wished you told us of this sooner! You know we could have helped you," 

"I wanted to go to you guys for help, believe me," I choked, holding back a sob. I felt Zenyatta place a robotic hand on my shoulder, encouraging me to keep going. "But with Dave in the picture. . . I-- I didn't know if I could take the risk. I couldn't stand the thought of losing him," 

"Ivery, in a way, I feel I can relate to your feelings," Genji spoke as he knelt down in front of me, gently brushing a lock of my hair away from my face. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to Hanzo," 

I slowly smiled a little at the cyborg, glad that he was sending me some form of sincerity. I glanced over at Winston, taking note that he has been quiet for this entire conversation. We met each others gaze as he sighed, in his eyes I could see disappointment, but the look on his face was a sign of some sort of relief. 

"I'm grounded again, aren't I?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

He couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. "Given your situation. . . I'm willing to let it slide, for now. You mentioned Sombra may come into contact with you again in the near future?" 

I nodded my head slowly. 

"If she does call you and and asks you to do another job, come straight to me, alright?" Winston commanded firmly. 

"Yes sir," I nodded again. 

The gorilla sighed, as the atmosphere around us grew tense along with a moments pause. "The N.S.F. has informed me that all is done here. If they find anymore Talon activity in the city, they'll contact us to investigate if need be. Until then, we're heading back to base," 

"When do we leave?" Genji questioned. 

"In a few hours," Winston answered. "That should give everyone to pack up any belongings they wish to bring back with them," 

"I should start packing then," I spoke tiredly, wiping the tears out of my eyes.

Winston nodded his head as he scanned the rest of the group. "We'll meet back here then," 

The meeting adjured, everyone set off to do their own thing. I was met with a comforting embrace from Reinhardt when I stood up from the couch. He whispered words of encouragement in my ear, reassuring me as if I was one of his own kin. I smiled warmly at the man before walking back to my room, curtly nodding in Genji and Zenyatta's direction as I did so.

I couldn't help but notice Genji bringing out his communicator, stepping away from the group. I wonder who he was calling. 

Another time perhaps. 

******

Half an hour passed, and I was almost done folding and packing the new clothes Lucio had bought for me during our time here. Now I had a whole new wardrobe to take care of when we get back to Eichenwalde. 

I was shutting my suitcase when a knock came to my door. 

"Come in!"

The door unlocked as Lucio stepped inside, my motions coming to a halt when he shut the door behind him. "Hey," 

"Hi," I weakly greeted. 

"Can we talk?"

"Sure," 

Hands stuffed in his pockets, he walked closer towards me as I turned my body to face him. "Back at the restaurant, before you said that you weren't being honest with us," he stopped just a few inches in front of me, his expression filled with uncertainty. "You said that you didn't deserve me," 

My face lit up for a brief moment before I was filled with sadness once more. My face fell at the mention of that sentence. I honestly don't know what I was thinking I said that. Or did I? My thoughts were going a million miles an hour at that point in time. "Oh. . ."

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. 

I sighed, daring myself to meet his gaze. "It's just. . . I wanted to enjoy our. . . date, I really did. After finishing that job for Sombra, I thought my troubles would be over, that I could finally enjoy and be myself again, but. . . after seeing the news report and Soldier:76, my emotions hit me like a flood and I couldn't keep it bottled up. It made me realize that maybe I was just using this date as an excuse to avoid my feelings," 

I could feel the tears piercing my eyes again, and as I rose my hands to wipe them away, Lucio beat me to it. One hand placed gently on my shoulder, the other drying my tears delicately with his fingers. "But there's more to it than that?" 

He's being so gentle. . . but why? Shouldn't he be mad? Shouldn't he be angry that I was just using him to avoid how I was really feeling deep down? 

"If you couldn't already tell, I--"  _Was I really going to say it?_ "I like you, Lucio, a lot. . ."

Lucio watched me closely, his gaze never fading away. 

"You've been an inspiration to me for years with your music, and in general you're so caring and kind, putting others needs before yourself. . ." I rambled, a smile cracking its way into my lips as more tears raced down my cheeks. "I couldn't help but continue to admire you more and more for years. When I met you that day in the medical bay, you were the last person I expected to meet. At first I thought it was all just a dream, but I quickly realized it was very much real, and my heart soared! I wanted to get to know you, like  **actually** get to know you and become your friend, but. . ."

"Take your time," he assured me, gently sitting me down on the edge of the bed next to him. 

I sniffled, drying a few more tears before looking at him again. "Now, I'm worried that what if this is nothing more than a celebrity crush. That my feelings weren't actually my own, just things that I wanted to believe. You deserve someone that will love and care about you  **for** you, not just because of your celebrity status, and what I've read online,"  

When I was finished my rant, Lucio didn't appear to give me any sort of reaction. He just sat there, his mouth gaped open ever so slightly, his hold on me never turning away. 

"That's it. . . that's all I wanted to say," 

There was silence for another few seconds, and before I could even get up and move, "Wow," he whispered, my movements seized as I looked over to him as a bright smile formed on his lips. "You care about me that much?" 

"Well. . . yeah," I nodded. "If I continue to have these feelings, well, it just wouldn't be fair to you," 

". . . Maybe I can help with that," He spoke. 

"What?" I blinked, raising a brow at the man. 

"You said it yourself; Get to know me more, and find out how you really feel," Lucio suggested. His hand reached over, grasping my free hand along my lap, his fingers intertwining with mine. "And in return, I'd like to get to know you more, too," 

"You're not upset with me?" I asked him. 

"Upset? No way, far from it!" He stated. "In a sense, I can kinda understand what you're getting at. In fact, we do have one thing in common," 

"What's what?" I questioned. 

His smile brightened, his face leaning a bit closer towards mine as his voice lowered to a whisper. "We both put our friends needs before our own," 

A small blush formed along my cheeks as his lips formed a smirk and before I could even reach more, his face turned and his lips planted a gentle kiss on my cheek. His face pulled back, meeting my gaze once more. "I'm flattered that you care so much for my well-being, Hope, and I'm honoured to call you my friend," 

"Really?" I squeaked, sounding hopeful. 

"Really really," he laughed. "And hey, if one day you get things sorted out and want to say. . . take it to the next level? I'll be waiting for you, but only when you're ready." 

I could feel the tears coming back to me, only this time the tears weren't out of guilt. They were tears of joy. "Thank you, Lucio," 

He stretched his arms out, asking if I wanted a hug. I don't think I've ever hugged someone so quickly in my entire life. 

As long as I had friends like Lucio, and everyone else in my little Overwatch family, I don't think I have anything to worry about. 


	29. Eichenwalde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and the Numbani team return to Eichenwalde, reuniting with some familiar faces and Hope makes a decision that could save her life in the future or endanger it even more.

The flight back to Eichenwalde was actually quite welcoming. After finally coming clean about Sombra earlier that morning, I felt as if a pile of bricks had been lifted off my shoulders. My friends were all supportive of me, even though I felt as if I stabbed them in the back for keeping this a secret for so long and not coming to them for help. 

But lesson learned, from here on out, I swore to seek my friends help whenever I needed it. Be it another situation with Sombra and Talon, or anything else that wasn't a high key threat. 

Reinhardt and the others had used our old shuttle to fly to Numbani, so naturally we used it to travel back. I wonder what Angela, Torbjorn, and Bridgette had been up to since we left? Was Angela studying some medical procedures? Torbjorn experimenting with his turrets? Maybe checking on the stable? Perhaps Bridgette was helping him? I suppose I won't know for certain until I see them for myself. 

During the flight, Lucio and I finally drank our fruit smoothies while we chatted with the others for a bit. We talked about possible Talon motives, why Sombra wanted me to follow Zarya, basic mission stuff. Later on, Genji and Zenyatta decided to do some meditation together while Winston returned to the ships cockpit and monitor the flight. Reinhardt sat back in the booth taking a nap, his head hanging back against the headrest while Lucio and I decided to shoot some hoops on the tiny little basketball court in the bottom left corner of the ship. 

I dribbled the ball past the Brazilian before going for the dunk, the ball sinking right through the basket. "Ooooooh snap, SON!" I cheered, firing finger guns at my opponent. 

"Nice shot, Ivery," Lucio complimented as he scooped up the ball in his hands as it bounced towards him. "You never told me you played!" 

"I guess I didn't have a reason to?" I shrugged with a cheap smile plastered on my face. 

"You're good though," he grinned, spinning the ball on his finger. "Ever played professionally?"

"I was captain on my Elementary school team, but once I got into high school I hung the towel," I explained whilst stretching my limbs. "Had to focus on my studies if I wanted to get into VanTech," 

"That stinks you had to quit, but nice on getting into that school," he rolled the ball along his left arm, across his shoulder blades and down his right arm before catching it again. 

"Yeah, it was pretty cool," I smirked. "What about you? You're not so bad myself," 

"I like it, but I'm more of a hockey man myself," he corrected. "Football too," 

"Not American Football, right?" I raised a brow at the man. "Just clarifying," 

Lucio erupted in laughter, slapping his knee upon doing so. "Right! I've got nothing against that one though," 

"Right," I clapped my hands together to psych myself up before getting into a defensive stance. "Alright, try and go for that downtown shot again," 

"You got it!" The man piped. 

Spinning the ball on his finger one more time, Lucio dropped the ball, dribbling it with his right hand. I jogged forward, my body staggering side to side as I tried to block his path towards the basket. He used his forearm to shove me away and once I was clear, he turned around and volleyed the ball up in the air. 

"Yes, yes, yes---!" we both chanted quickly. 

The ball soared towards the basket, and it bounced on the rim, flying to the side and just barely missing the shot. 

"Aww!" We both sighed in frustration. 

The ball flew to the side, bouncing against the floor once before it went over and plopped onto Reinhardt's chest, knocking the German man awake from his nap with a "HUFF!" 

"God, what the?!" He shouted, sitting up in his chair as the ball remained still on the table. 

He looked around frantically, hand over his chest before laying his eye on the ball. He glared at the toy before turning his gaze over towards us. 

Hands behind my back, I dug the heel of my boot against the floor. "Sorry about that Reinhardt,"

"What is the meaning of this?" He questioned. 

"It was my fault, sir," Lucio answered. "I missed a shot," 

"Ah, what is this? You're playing a game and didn't invite me?" The old man mocked teasingly as he grabbed the ball with his hand, moving out of the booth.

"We didn't want to wake you!" I protested. 

"Bah! Please, you didn't invite me because you'd knew I'd win!" He boasted, a proud grin on his face. 

"Hey, the both of us could take you on easily," Lucio pointed a finger at the man. 

"No you won't," Genji quickly stated, his meditation stance held firm. "He'll destroy you," 

"Genji, have a little faith," Zenyatta persuaded. 

"I think we could," I spoke up proudly, placing my hands on my hips. 

"I'd like to see you try," Reinhardt dared with a grin as he dribbled the ball between his legs before spinning it on his pinky finger. "Come out and face me!"

I charged at the man to try and swipe the ball from him, but he sticks his free hand out and catches my head with it, keeping me back as I tried to fight his grip. "No fair, Lucio get the ball!"

Lucio had sprinted around, trying to catch the German off guard from behind. Reinhardt turned, just catching a glimpse of Lucio leaping forward to try and snatch the ball, and just as it was within his reach, the Crusader lifted it up into the air and Lucio went flying, sliding across the floor for a brief moment before flipping over to his back, panting to catch his breath as the German man snickered down at him. 

"So close and yet. . ." He tossed the ball into the air, nailing the basket. ". . . so far," 

"Aw come on, man! You're like 7 feet tall!" Lucio groaned, rubbing his head. 

"Told you," Genji chuckled, shaking his helm. 

"Let's just say that I have the high ground," He laughed, finally pulling his other hand away from my face. "Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you how to fight, little Hope. Your charge was so cute," 

I huffed, glaring at the man with a tease. "Oh, bringing out the short jokes are we?"

"Not at all!" He reassured me, "Those are for Torbjorn," 

Lucio snickered as he sat up from the floor, dusting his shorts off. "Kind of wish we had an actual court to work with," 

I hummed at the thought, cupping my chin as I did so before my face lit up, "Hey!" I smiled at the Brazilian, "Why not we make our own?"

"Wait you mean as in  _build_ our own basketball court?" He asked for clarification.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, as like a side project when we're not busy with, well, Overwatch related stuff," 

"It would give us another option to chill than just chilling in the workout room or the living room," Lucio agreed. 

"What do you think, Reinhardt? Want to help us build a basketball court?" I asked, looking over at the German. 

"Of course! If it means I can cream you both in this game again, why not?"

The two young adults yelled at the Crusader who laughed in reply, giving me a nuggie in the process. 

After playing a couple more rounds along with Reinhardt, we finally arrived back in Eichenwalde later that afternoon. We talked through the village and seek'd shelter inside the castle. 

"BRIDGETTE! TORBJORN! WE'RE BACK!" Reinhardt yelled, his voice echoing through the halls. 

"Reinhardt, are you deaf?!" Torbjorn bellowed back. "You're going to scare it!" 

"Wait,  _it_?" I repeated. 

I quickened my pace as the others followed behind me, rounding the corner as we entered the throne room. There in the center of the room stood Torbjorn and a familiar Omnic companion I hadn't seen for an entire week. 

I gasped, my eyes twinkling as I recognized robotic structure and the E-54 on the side of his chest plate, "Bastion!" I jogged over to him, and upon hearing my voice, the Omnic perked up and whistled joyfully. 

"You know this Bastion?" Torbjorn gawked. 

I knelt in front of the unit, laughing. "This was the Bastion that saved me last week," 

"You could tell just by looking at him?" Lucio questioned. "I thought they all just looked the same?"

"I'd recognize this guy from a mile away," I grinned, waving at the Omnic as he waved back at me with a chirp. I glanced over at the Swedish man, "Where did you find him? Did he just wander onto the castle grounds?"

"Actually, the complete opposite," He explained. "There was a Bastion sighting back in my hometown, saw it on the news a couple days ago. Angela gave me the green light to hoop on over and investigate," 

"What made you decide to bring him back here?" Zenyatta asked, hovering over next to the Bastion unit. I couldn't help but chuckle as Bastion squatted down on the floor in a sitting position, just idling there. It was pretty cute. 

"There's something about him that separates him from other Bastion units. He has no interest in fighting," Torbjorn stated. "When I found him he was so focused on nature and the animals," 

I nodded my head in agreement. "I noticed it right away too when he rescued me," and speaking of animals, "Hey Bastion, where's your little bird friend?" 

He tilted his head to the side, processing the question before his optic beeped, pointing upwards with his singular metal servo. I glanced up towards the chandelier upon hearing a series of chirps. A small yellow ball of fluff flew around before soaring down, perching itself on top of Bastion's head. He, or she, chirped at me in greeting. 

"Hey there, it's good to see you too," I smiled. 

Bastion computed a series of beeps as if he was laughing. He lifted his finger up, allowing the bird to perch on it.

"I swear that bird follows him everywhere," Torbjorn grumbled as he crossed his arms, although he couldn't help but smile a little. 

"I imagine it must have been tough bringing him back here," Genji spoke up, scanning the Bastion cautiously. 

"We just came back earlier today, this morning actually," Tobjorn answered. "Not many transportation units allow Bastions onto their carriers you know," 

"Well if we're not doing anything important right now, I could show Bastion around?" I offered, sitting up from my kneeling position. "If you're comfortable to hand him over to me for a while?"

"I don't have any issues with that," Torbjorn shook his head. "Just make sure he doesn't touch anything,"

"Got it," I gave the man a thumbs up before I motioned Bastion to follow. "Come on, Bastion, I'll show you around!"

Bastion whirled in excitement as the bird flew off of his finger as the unit sat up. The sounds of his pedes marching behind me echoed through the great hall of the castle. 

"Seeing a living Bastion is kinda cool," Lucio pondered before his face lit up, waving over at me, "Hey Hope, wait up! I'll come too!" 

********

With everyone else doing their own thing, Lucio and I gave Bastion a tour of the castle. He was quite a curious Omnic, I'll give him that. It was hard to keep him from touching different things, like kitchen appliances such as the blender, the stove, computers. One time he even stared at a grand father clock for five minutes straight, just glued to the rocking handle of the clock. Lucio recorded a couple seconds of it on his phone, followed by me gently reminding him not to post it on social media. 

We don't want the public finding out that Overwatch took in a living Bastion unit. At least not yet anyways. 

During the tour, we stopped by to see Bridgette who had her own little workshop hidden within the castle walls. On one end it was dedicated to repairing and upgrading Reinhardt's armour, in the middle there was a table littered with drawings and schematics of Torbjorn's turrets. 

"Hey Bridgette, what's that you're working on?" I asked curiously. 

On the other side of the room, dangling on a pair of chains connected to the ceiling, hanged a orange suit of armour. Not as big and bulky as Reinhardt's armour, but none the less, it looked pretty amazing. 

"This?" She perked up, glancing over at it while cleaning a wrench with a cloth. "It's just a little project I'm working on," 

Out of the corner of my eyes, I couldn't help but notice a weapon of some kind sitting on the table behind the armour. It looked like some sort of mace? 

"It's not finished yet, but I think it's going well," 

"It looks amazing!" Lucio complimented. "Do you fight alongside Reinhardt?"

"Ha! No, I just repair him and his armour after the fight," Bridgette chuckled before her smile slowly disappeared from view as she glanced over at the armour, a sorrowful look on her eyes. "But sometimes I feel like I could do more,"  

"Well, maybe when you finish working on your project, you will be able to do more," I encouraged with a smirk. "And then some, right?" 

Bridgette smiled back at me, "Right! It's like my dad always says,  **hard work pays off** ," 

We said our goodbyes and left Bridgette to her work. Lucio and I finished up showing Bastion around the rest of the castle before handing him back Torbjorn so he could perform a few diagnostics and Lucio and I went off to get lunch. 

*******

The next couple of days had been oddly quiet. We hadn't heard back from Hanzo or McCree, or at least I hadn't, so I assumed that they were still doing their undercover mission over in Venice. There also hadn't been any updates to the Sombra protocol either. Other than working on decrypting old pieces of code, there hasn't been any new material for either me or Lucio to work with. 

Zenyatta had been kind to invite me to join him and Genji in morning meditation. It did help pass the time, and practice with well, not being so fidgety all the time. Although the first time he invited me I accidentally dossed off and took a 5 minute nap before Genji scared me awake. 

I tried to tackle him to the ground after that, but he swiftly avoided my attack. It hurt. A lot. 

Speaking off, after meditation, Genji took the time to teach me some basic material arts. I suppose I'd had to learn sooner or later, right? He taught me how to do basic kicks, punches, blocking. Yesterday we tried doing an exercise where I had to flip my opponents body over mine and nail him to the ground. The result? Let's just say I need to work on my upper body strength.

Man, I really regret dropping gym class. 

It was Day 5 now since we returned to Eichenwalde. I did my usual routine, got showered and dressed before heading over to the kitchen to eat breakfast before making my way outside to the back courtyard of the castle near the stable. I could see why Zenyatta liked to go their for meditation. It was calm and peaceful. Plus it was great to go and see Spirit, Willow, and Echo after practice too. 

My footsteps crunched against the dirt as I made my way down the narrow path towards the courtyard. But along the way there I couldn't help but feel like something was off. The atmosphere didn't feel right for some reason. When I came to the end of the path and arrived at the clearing, I was surprised to only see Zenyatta in his meditating position, his orbs occasionally glowing and bouncing in a chant like rhythm. 

"Good morning, Zenyatta," I greeted with a bow once I was near him. 

"Good morning, Miss Ivery," he replied, lifting his head up to face me. "Did you sleep well?" 

"I did," I smiled before scanning the area. No sign of the cyborg ninja anywhere. "Is Genji not joining us today?"

"He informed me that he will be arriving later this morning," Zenyatta explained, "For now, it is just to two of us," 

I pouted, sad that Genji wouldn't be showing up until later. But if he's busy doing something else, I guess I can't blame him. I sat down across from the Omnic Monk, lowering my head as I closed my eyes and focused, listening to the chime of Zenyatta's orbs before dwelling into my own little mind. 

I'm not sure how long I was sitting there for, but at one point my nose became incredibly itchy and as much as I wanted not to move and break my concentration, I couldn't take it any longer. I hissed, scratching it with a huff as I opened my eyes, "Sometimes I just don't know how you do it, Zen--"

My mouth gaped open to see that the Omnic had suddenly vanished. Did he get up and leave without me hearing him? I suppose it's possible, he hardly makes a sound when he's floating. My head whirled about, trying to spot the Monk to see if he had moved elsewhere. 

"Zenyatta?" I called. 

Just as I was sitting up, I heard a voice cry out. It sounded nothing like the Monk. I turned my head and glanced up at the sky to see a certain cyborg ninja soaring down straight for me--!

"Ah!" I screamed, jumping back followed by collapsing to the ground as I had lost the feeling of my legs during meditation. "Genji, what are you--?!"

"Hah!" He dashed straight for me again, looking like he was going to punch me square in the face.

I did a backwards somersault to avoid the attack before standing up and using my arms to shield my face in order to block another punch, but I didn't react quickly enough after that, as Genji then spin kicked me at my side, forcing me back down to the ground a ways away from him. 

Just what was going on?! 

My heart was pounding in my chest, my breathes quickening as I scrambled to my feet to see Genji running for me again. The two of us went back and forth, he went in for a punch, I blocked it, I return a punch and he swiftly dodges it. It's like to two of us were part of some sort of dance, it was almost mesmerizing. 

Finally, after seemed like forever, enough was enough. I could feel my body begin to tire. It was only a matter of time before Genji would force my body to collapse out of exhaustion. If this was suppose to be some sort of test, it sure isn't funny. 

"Genji--!" I blocked another punch before feigning one in return followed by kicking him in the stomach. It pushed him away from my personal space before I jogged and pounced, grabbing the cyborg ninja as the two of us somersaulted along the ground before I pushed my hands down on his shoulders, pinning him down. "Snap out of it!" 

Whatever was going on with him, I was expecting him to lash out at me. But instead, he started laughing. It was like he was enjoying himself. "Impressive Hope," 

I suddenly felt something press against my stomach. I lowered my head down and noticed Genji's foot. "Uh oh. . ." 

"But you still have much to learn," he pushed his foot out, shoving me off of him as I tumbled to the ground. 

"Ow. . ." I groaned. 

I slowly sat up from the ground, rubbing the back of my head as I watched Genji stand up, his visor staring me down. 

"Was this a test? Did I fail?" I asked him. 

"I wouldn't put it that way," Genji replied as he crossed his arms. "How did she do, Hanzo?"

Wait, Hanzo?!

I whirled around to see Hanzo walking towards us, Zenyatta floating beside him. "She fought well for a beginner," The elder Shimada brother smirked. 

"Hanzo!" I sprang up to my feet before wincing as I felt a rush of pain along my back. "Ow-- When did you get back?" 

"Last night, actually," he answered. 

Zenyatta tossed one of his orbs my way, glowing a bright yellow as its energy transferred over to me. It felt like a warm blanket was wrapped around my body as I felt the pain from my back slowly fade away. I exchanged a look between the trio before looking back at Genji once more. "What's this about?" 

"Hanzo and I were talking," Genji began. "After what happened with the Junkers in Numbani, I had thought about the idea of possibly training you to defend yourself. At first I thought I was just being paranoid, but after your recent behavior involving the situation with Sombra, it only confirmed my thoughts," 

"I too grew concerned about your well-being, Hope," Hanzo continued as he stepped closer towards me, "In the event you do end up getting caught up more in our missions, we may not always be around to protect you," 

"So what you're saying is you two want to teach me how to fight?" I asked for clarification. 

"That basically sums it up," Genji nodded his head. "But only if you feel comfortable," 

"Well. . ." I lowered my head, the idea running around in my head as I took a glance over at Hanzo and Zenyatta. "I have been getting into a bit of trouble lately, and I have a feeling that it's not going to stop anytime soon. . ." 

"We'll start with the basics and then move on to the more advance techniques once we feel you are ready," Hanzo explained. "We'll train you as our father did for the Shimada Clan," 

"Wait, seriously?!" My eyes widened at the words he had said. "I'm gonna be a ninja?!"

Genji laughed again as he drew closer towards me, gently placing a hand on my shoulder from behind. "Let's not go that far quite just yet," 

"We must warn you now, the training can become quite difficult, strenuous even," Hanzo advised. "It'd be nothing like you've experienced before,"

"But. . . if it means being able to protect myself from Talon, it's worth it, right?" I asked. 

Hanzo nodded his head in reply. 

"What is your decision, Miss Ivery?" Zenyatta questioned me. 

I cycled my gaze through the trio once more before forming my lips into a smile. "Can I call you guys my Sensei's?"

Hanzo snickered as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. "If you show wish," 

I smirked playfully in reply, "Well then, Sensei Hanzo, Sensei Genji, Master Zenyatta. . . when do we begin?"

Hanzo motioned his head to the side, towards the outskirts of the forest. "Your training begins now," 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost 2am, and I scrambled to get it done and properly ready for you guys, enjoy! *falls asleep on keyboard*


	30. Eichenwalde II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope begins her training with the Shimada Brothers and Sombra finally delivers Hope her reward for finding Zarya back in Numbani.

"Flow like water,"

Hanzo's voice rang in my ear as I went through the motions once more, a practice staff in my hand as I performed some swings, followed by a vertical swipe. I watched him do another technique before quickly attempting to mimic it. Genji stood by, hands behind his back as he observed the lesson and occasionally throwing tips my way. 

"Separate your hands further away from each other," he cautioned. "Make sure the grasp of your weapon is well balanced."

 _Crap, he's right,_ I thought to myself. Shifting my hands a bit further away from each other, I put a bit more power into my next swing, smacking my staff straight for Hanzo who casually blocked it with his storm bow. 

A pleased smirk grew on his lips as he spoke, "Better, Hope, much better. Again,"

It's been a couple of days now since Hanzo and Genji started my training. Hanzo wasn't lying when he said it would be strenuous. If the tiniest thing didn't go right, we'd start the technique all over again. One simple error could change the tides of battle. While I groaned about it at first, my mind quickly set itself straight. If we're going up against Talon, I need to make sure I'm ready and well prepared for anything they could throw my way. Just the other day, Hanzo made me run laps down along the horse riding trails.

That wasn't even really part of the training! It was just a warm up!

Heck even McCree stopped by and helped me brush up on my shooting. One lesson from Doctor Zieglar wasn't going to be enough. 

While Jesse wasn't as harsh as Hanzo, he didn't hold back from his teachings. Taught me how to properly handle my weapon, at one point he even let me hold his pride and joy, Peacekeeper and taught me some cool tricks. During our breaks he'd tell stories about Overwatch's "glory days" during his time there. Working with Reyes, Blackwatch, but one figure he talked most about was Captain Ana Amari. She was the one that helped him perfect his shooting skills and helped him create his signature move, Dead Eye. 

From what I could remember, Captain Amari was considered to be one of the greatest snipers who ever lived. She even went into surgery to be given a bionic eye that enhanced her sight. 

One day while we were working on disarming shots, I recalled the memory of questioning Genji on his possible relationship with my grandfather. The Shimada said that Jeffery had passed on before Genji even joined Blackwatch. But what about McCree? 

_"Hey, Jesse?" My voice perked up._

_"Yeah, kid?" He acknowledged as he fired a shot, nailing a practice drone right in the head._

_"Have you met my grandfather before?" I asked him._

_"Grandfather?" he repeated in question for clarification._

_"Jeffery Ivery?" I answered._

_He stopped firing, holding his gun up in the air by his head as a trail of smoke seethed from the hole of the weapon for a few brief moments before burning out. His stare on the practice drone was unwavering._

_He was the last person to be told of what happened in regards to me finding out about my family's past with Overwatch back in Numbani. Did he not feel comfortable talking about the topic? Did something happen to him regarding my grandfather way back when? Did Jesse know Jeffery on a personal level of some sort?_

_Those questions rattled in my brain as I waited anxiously for him to reply. Finally, he drew a breath, and I held mine._

_"Once or twice," He finally spoke. "He was like my. . . guidance councilor of sorts before Captain Amari took me under wing and showed me the ropes."_

_"Guidance councilor?" I repeated as I lowered my weapon._

_"You really want to hear about all of this, don't ya?" He questioned, a puzzled look on his face as he turned his head to look at me._

_I nodded my head in reply. The look on my face told the cowboy I was being sincere._

_McCree sighed, lowering his head as he turned it back towards the shooting range. Dropping Peacekeeper back into its holster, he reached into his back pocket as he brought out a spare cigar. "I suppose a short break wouldn't hurt nobody,"_

_A small smile spread along my lips as Jesse motioned his head to follow him, leading me to a bundle of giant, smooth rocks. I reached down and grabbed a water bottle before taking a seat next to the cowboy as he lit his cigar, puffing out some smoke._

_"After Reyes brought me back to Swiss HQ when I took him up on his offer to join Blackwatch, Pastor Jeffery helped me in getting settled in--"_

_"Pastor Jeffery?" I repeated, a smug looking grin on my face._

_"What? New chapter in my life, a better one at that! Might as well be polite about it," Jesse shrugged._

_"Fine, fine," I rolled my eyes before nudging his arm with my elbow. "Keep going!"_

_"Whenever I was having problems or felt troubled, he made sure that I could always go and talk to him if I didn't feel comfortable going to Reyes," he went on. "He was a good man,"_

_"I'm glad to hear that," I smiled._

_"His wife was alright too. A tad scary and intimidating sometimes, a matter of fact," He added._

_"Seriously?" I rose a brow in surprise. ". . . Now I know where my dad gets that from,"_

_McCree nodded his head, humming in reply before taking a quick smoke. "You may have inherited your grandma's looks, but you know what else you got?"_

_"What's that?" I questioned._

_Jesse smiled warmly in my direction. "The Pastor's spirit,"_

_My eyes widened in surprise at the answer I was given. His spirit? What did he mean by that?_

_"Jeffery was always there for me and the rest of the team whenever we needed him," He elaborated. "Kinda like you; You're always looking out for us and thinking about our well-being,"_

_"Just like him, huh?" I pondered the thought, my smiling growing bigger as I glanced up at the blue sky above._

_Wherever Jeffery and Bethany are, I hope they're smiling down on me._

_"When I first met you back at the Panorama Diner and Lena mentioned your name, I knew it sounded familiar to me; The last name anyway. I thought it was just a coincidence at first, but given what's been happening the last couple of days, I don't know what exactly to believe anymore--"_

_He stopped talking when he glanced my way, noticing I wasn't exactly paying close attention to his words. He sighed, glancing down at the gravel as he smoke his cigar once more, puffing the smoke out of his mouth before his lips formed a small smile._

_"Do you miss him?" Jesse asked._

_"I. . . miss the fact of not really knowing who he was, or not getting the chance to see him, or actually talking to him. . ." I admitted, clutching my water bottle tighter with my fingers._

_"Well, if it's any consolation to you," Jesse spoke up as he reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I think he'd be mighty proud of you of all you've done,"_

_"You think so?" I glanced up at the man._

_"I know so," He quipped. "Now then, how about we wrap up things here and call it a day?"_

McCree and I reviewed everything he thought me that lesson before my training for the day ended. After having that conversation, I felt as if I had a new reason to bring down Talon and to keep my friends and Overwatch safe. 

It's what my grandfather would have done. I'll do this for him.  

There was blood, sweat, and some tears poured into these last few days. But the aches and pains I'd feel after each training session was worth it. Slowly but surely I could feel myself getting stronger, physically and mentally. 

I struck Hanzo's bow, putting a bit more power into each swing as he in turn blocked my attacks swiftly. I then feint an attack before thrusting my weapon forward and whacking Hanzo's storm bow out of his hands, causing him to falter back in his step. When he turned back to face me, I pointed the top end of the staff towards his face. 

"How was that, Sensei Hanzo?" I smirked. 

"Your first finishing blow," he grinned. "Excellent, Hope," 

"I think she's starting to get the hang of things," Genji commented, arms crossed over his metal chest. 

"You think so?" I sparked brightly, glancing over at the younger Shimada. 

"Now, now, don't get over confident," Hanzo advised, scooping up his bow from the ground, gently using his bow to jab me in the stomach. "You still have a great deal to learn, Ivery," 

"I understand," I bowed my head respectfully. 

"Always so polite, aren't you?" Genji teased as he tossed me a towel. 

I caught the towel in my hand before shrugging at the cyborg. "I was raised that way," 

"Let's end training for the day," Hanzo proclaimed. "You've done well, Hope, you've improved much since yesterday. Get some rest," 

"Thank you, Hanzo," I smiled. 

"Be sure to remember what I've pointed out to you," Genji reminded. "I will be your sparring partner tomorrow, so be prepared to give it your all," 

"I'll try, Genji," I acknowledged before waving goodbye at the two brothers, "See you guys tomorrow," 

Wiping the sweat off my face and body, I walked up the trail back towards the castle. I could feel my stomach grumble too. I knew I shouldn't have had a light lunch. 

My wrist communicator buzzed. Glancing down at it, I spotted a message sent to me by McCree. 

**"Hey kid, no practice today. Something came up. We'll pick up where we left off same time tomorrow," - Agent McCree**

_Oh thank GOD,_ I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Now I have time to shower and actually eat some more food before I have to meet up with Winston and Lucio at the control center for monitor duty. So far there hasn't been any more messages from Sombra. With Talon activity being at an all time low, Lucio and I decided to take a bit of a break from decrypting the Sombra protocol. That is until Talon decides to pull something. 

I made it inside, passing by Torbjorn's workshop as I waved at the man and his daughter Bridgette whilst they were doing some work on Bastion. I made my way across the throne room, waving at Lucio who was already at the console, informing him I'd be over in a few minutes. Walking by the living room I found Reinhardt passed out on the couch taking a nap. 

Finally I made it to my room. Shutting the door behind me I stripped myself of my smelly and sweat drenched work out clothes and stepped into the bathroom. I had never felt so happy to take a shower in my life. 

As I cleaned myself up, I couldn't help but scan my form, taking note of the bruises I had gained from my training. The bruise from when Genji first kicked me in my left side when he surprised attacked me was still there, though it was starting to fade away. I had small blisters on my hands and fingers from holding my staff for so long, it reminded me of the "monkey bars" phase I had in elementary school. I formed another bruise along my right arm as I felt a quick surge of pain course through that area when I lifted my arm up to reach for the shampoo bottle. Overall my muscles ached, but as I mentioned before, the pain was well worth it. 

Shampooing and rinsing my hair, I turned off the shower and ripped off a towel from the hanger. As I stepped out of the shower and was about to wrap the towel around my body, I couldn't help but glance up and see my reflection in the mirror. I took in the sight of my naked form, though there wasn't any huge changes (I wasn't expecting to become super buff in one night), I did find some minor improvements beginning to take shape. For instance, the muscles on my calves from my basketball days were starting to come back. 

Perhaps I could convince Hanzo and Genji to try and play a round of basketball for a day of training? Probably now, but it would be pretty fun. Lucio, Reinhardt and I would really need to start construction on that basketball court someday. That tiny hoop area on the Overwatch jet isn't going to cut it anymore. 

Getting out of my trance, I dried my body off with the towel before wrapping it around my hair and fetching a change of clothes. I slipped on a pair of grey skinny jeans, black boots, and a red tank top. I dried off my hair before pulling it back into a pony tail.  

I grabbed my communicator and bolted out the door, making my way towards the kitchen to grab something to eat before meeting up with Lucio. Scanning the refrigerator, I spotted a small bowl containing tater tot like sausages---

"Reinhardt's leftover Smoked Sausage Tots? Score!" I beamed. 

I swiped the bowl from the fridge, anxiously waiting for the food to heat up in the microwave. The machine "BEEPED" indicating the food was ready. I brought it out, picking up one of the little deliciousness treats as I felt a slight sting on my fingertips. Hot and spicy, just like how Reinhardt made them. I popped one or two in my mouth as I made my way out, walking towards the computer center to see Lucio leaning back on a chair, his hands behind his head and feet up on the table. It looked like he was taking a nap. 

"Hey Lucio, think fast!" I exclaimed. 

He jolted awake just as I tossed one of the sausage tots in the air. In a split second he spotted it, reached out and just barely caught it. 

"Yo, Ivery, come on, girl," he hissed, catching his breath before erupting in laughter. "Give me a little warning next time! Good food like this can't go to waste,"

"True. If it hasn't already been established, I hereby decree that Reinhardt Wilhelm be the official chef of this team!" I announced proudly, tossing a tater in the air and catching it with my mouth. 

"Nicely done," Lucio applauded. 

"Thank you very much," I giggled before taking a seat next to him, setting the bowl aside. "Where's Winston? He's still not here,"

"He's showing up later," Lucio informed. "He's upgrading Athena's security protocols in his workshop," 

"Any updates here?" I questioned, scanning the multiple monitors. 

"No news," The Brazilian sighed, stretching his arms out. "All quiet here," 

It has been radio silent the last couple of days now. Then again this isn't the first time it's been like this. Back in Numbani, Talon activity was at an all time low ever since they tried to assassinate the CEO of Volskiya Industries and broke Doomfist out of prison. What exactly were they planning to do while Sombra sent me on that wild goose chase to look for Zarya?

I glanced over at Lucio to see that he had his laptop off to the side, doing some work. Was he working on more music? Writing emails to his agent or record company? 

"What'cha working on?" I asked. 

"Oh this? I'm writing a report to present to the United Nations," Lucio explained. "When the UN decided to temporarily lift the Petras Act to observe Overwatch and monitor their whereabouts, they allowed you guys to call in a new recruit, being me, and I have to report your activity and present it to the representatives," 

"So if they like your report, they'll permanently lift the Petras Act for good?" I questioned, my eyes widening at the idea of going public. 

"That's the plan, Stan," Lucio chuckled. 

To think one day Overwatch could finally come back into the light for good. The thought of the Petras Act getting revoked was mind blowing enough. This could be a brand new start for all of us. Maybe even my family too. . .

"With that being said," Lucio spoke up as he turned his laptop to face away from me, "You're not suppose to be looking at it," 

My eyes widened as my cheeks flushed at the realization. I lifted my hands up apologetically, "My bad--!"

"No warm done," He reassured me. "Just don't bring it up when I do send this out," 

"My lips are sealed," I mimicked zipping up my lips before making a popping sound. 

The two of us shared a laugh before quieting down, the beeps and quirks of the computers sounding off filling the area around us. The Brazilian sighed, a small smile forming on his lips. "This is kinda nice. . . just the two of us hanging out,"

"Yeah. . ." I slowly nodded my head in agreement, reaching into the bowl and chewing on another tot as I monitored one of the screens. 

Every time Lucio and I hung out together I always thought back to the time I opened up to him the day we left Numbani. Since then, little by little, I've had the chance to get to know him a little bit better, and for him to get to know more about me in return. During monitor duty we'd talk about our lives before the Recall, our friends, and our family. 

I told him about my brother Dave, how he and his friends run a band together and that he's the drummer. I've shown him some of their recordings of their original songs and their cover songs. He looked really impressed and ecstatic. 

Lucio tweeted out to them the other day saying he loved their music and my brother went nuts. He called me the second the tweet went viral and I couldn't get him off the phone just for him to catch his breath he wouldn't stop talking about it. 

One day he introduced me to one of his celebrity friends, Hana Song, or as she is known online as D.Va, world famous gaming streamer. Originally she was a professional gamer, considered one of the best in the world

The more I think about the two of us knowing more about each other, the more I think about wanting to ask Lucio for a second chance at that date. But is now really the best time to bring that up? Sure Talon activity is at a low right now, but what about later? Not to mention my schedule is packed with training with the Shimada Brothers and McCree for most of the day. 

 _Perhaps after things have calmed down a bit?_ I imagined. 

As my mother always said, deep breath, then take the plunge. 

"Hey Lucio?" I looked over to face him, "Maybe after the whole thing with the UN clears up, perhaps you and I could--"

The sound of my communicator going off startled me to the core as I jumped in my seat, scaring Lucio in the process.

"Jeez, what kind of ring tone is that?" He hissed, hand over his chest. 

I rose my wrist, looking over at  the screen to see the sombra skull lingering there, awaiting me to acknowledge its presence. I sucked in a breath, my eyes widening as I could feel my fingers tremble as I looked over at the DJ once more. "It's her,"

"Sombra?" He gasped.

I nodded my head furiously. 

His face stern, he moved his laptop aside and began to move away from his seat. "I'll go get Winston,"

"Wait--!" I reached out for him, grabbing his hand. "Shouldn't we see what she wants first?"

"Um--" Lucio bounced in his spot, unsure what exactly to do as he exchanged looks between me and the stairwell down the hall towards the dorms. "Alright, but make it quick. You know what Winston said,"

"I know, I know," I hissed. 

Lucio sat back down beside me as I tapped the skull. It enhanced and grew larger in size. The skull opened its mouth, spewing out a series of digital letters.

**"Hey Ivery, here's some clues to help you figure out the reward I promised earlier,"**

"Clues?" I repeated. 

**"This is a limited time offer. Find her before she's gone ;)"**

"Wait, find  **her**? What does she mean by that?" Lucio gawked. 

The skull fizzled out of existence and taking its place was a digital folder, coded with the name "Shrike". My finger hovered over it before tapping it as the folder flew open and a series of digital images and articles floated before us. 

"What is all this stuff?" Lucio pondered as he looked at the pictures in awe. 

I cycled through the images, and the first one that immediately caught my attention was a medical report. The patients name was Janina Kowalska. The image displayed a X-ray reading of a human skull, with a bullet wound injury that pierced the patients right eye. You could see the scratch marks against the bone of the skull. 

"That's a horrible way to die. . ." Lucio hissed at the sight. "Jesus--!"

"Unless. . . this Janina somehow survived?" I shrugged my shoulders. 

"Janina Kowalska?" A female voice repeated. 

The two of us jumped in our chairs again and zipped around to see Doctor Angela Zieglar standing behind us. We both breathed a heavy sigh of relief before slouching into our chairs. 

"How long have you been standing there, woman?!" Lucio heaved. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," She apologized. 

"Angela, does that name sound familiar to you?" I asked. 

"Not on a personal level, no," She shook her head. "The reason I know it is because it's a common fake name for patients to use if they are trying to receive treatment whilst on the run from local authorities. I learned this trick while I was practicing medicine for a time in Moscow," 

"So if it's a fake name, then who is she?" Lucio questioned. 

Looking through more of the images, I found one of a mug shot from a local Egyptian newspaper. 

"Well, whoever she is, she goes by the name of Shrike now," I muttered, taking in the image. 

She wore a dark visor over her face with a blue triangular like symbol imprinted on it with a dark blue hood covering her head. According to the article, this "Shrike" lady is wanted for espionage, assault, and theft crimes all across Egypt. I kept reading the article and something caught my interest as I pointed a finger at it. 

"Whoa, whoa, guys, look at this--" 

**"Rumour has it the Shrike has been sabotaging Talon operations throughout the city of Cairo,"**

"So this Shrike is causing trouble for Talon," Lucio quickly realized. "And if that's the case. . ."

"Sombra wants us to find Shrike before Talon does. . ." I quickly added. 

"But why would she send us her info?" Lucio questioned. "This wouldn't make any sense Shrike somehow had a connection to. . ."

Wait a second--!

"Hope?" Lucio quietly called out to me but I shifted out of my seat, standing in front of Angela. 

"Doctor, do you remember any Overwatch agents that went into surgery for bad eye sight or anything like that?" I questioned. 

"Hmm," Mercy cupped her chin as she processed the question. "The only person I think of is Ana Amari who went into surgery for her bionic eye,"

That's right--! Just like Jesse mentioned the other day!

I looked back at the medical report on the digital screen before looking back at the doctor. "Which eye?"

Angela tensed, knowing exactly where I was going with this. "Her right eye. . ."

Bingo.

"Surgery for their right eye, wanted for crimes in Egypt, the security camera screenshots depict them using a sniper rifle---"

"Hope, wait a second," Angela shook her head, "As much as I want to believe what you're about to say, Captain Amari is dead. She died on that mission--!"

"But was the body found?" I interrupted. 

Silence. 

I had my answer. 

"Lucio, go get Winston, now," I ordered as I shoved pass the two medics.

"Wait, where are you going?" He asked. 

"Someone else needs to hear about this!" I stated as I darted down the hall, up the stairs and ran towards the dorms. 

I prayed in my mind that he was in his room. After sprinting down the hall, I stopped at the door of Jesse McCree's room and knocked on the door. "Jesse, are you in there?"

"Hope, that you--?"

Before he could even finish his sentence, I forced my way in, pushing the door open to see the cowboy sitting at his desk, the image of a middle aged brown skinned woman's face could be seen on his holoscreen. 

The woman had mid length black hair with golden beads tied on the front strands of her hair. She had a Horus tattoo under her left eye and piercing brown eyes. 

"Hold up, what's gotten into you?" Jesse exclaimed in shock as he stood up from his chair. His chest armour and serape was left on his bed, revealing a brown t-shirt, dark pants and his normal cowboy boots and spurs, his hat left aside on his desk. 

"Jesse, I need you to come with me right now," I ordered, heavily breathing in and out. 

"What, why?" He questioned, seeming perplexed. "Can it wait?"

"No it can't, Jesse," I shook my head. 

"What's going on?" The woman on the monitor screen asked. "Am I missing something here?"

"Hi ma'am, I'm sorry, but I need to borrow Jesse for a few minutes," I stated, raising a hand at the screen. 

"I'm not going anywhere until you start making some sense, what the hell is going on?!" Jesse demanded. 

"It's about Ana Amari!" I blurted out. 

Silence filled the room as Jesse's mouth gaped open ever so slightly, "What did you just say?" he spoke before clutching his jaw. 

"I know it's going to sound crazy, but it's the truth," I stated, stepping closer to the cowboy. "Jesse. . . Captain Amari is still alive,"

Jesse's expression on his face grew serious as he pointed a finger at me, "If you're playing games with me, Ivery, I swear--"

"Sombra got back to me. She sent me a whole chunk of data about this lady who calls herself the Shrike and she's been causing trouble for Talon all over Egypt--"

"How do you know Talon isn't playing mind games with you?" Jesse's voice rose to an almost frightening fury. 

"She's telling the truth!" The woman spoke up. 

The two of us looked over at the computer screen to stare down the woman. 

". . . Fareeha?" Jesse whimpered. 

Fareeha? Wasn't that the name of. . . wait a minute--!

"You're. . . Fareeha Amari?" I realized, my eyes slowly widening as I took a step away from the cowboy I was so shocked. 

She nodded her head. "That's right,"

"Fareeha, what's going on?" Jesse asked, trying to keep his voice calm. 

"I received this letter a couple days ago," Fareeha reached out off camera, pulling up an envelope as she showed it off to the camera. The writing on the front had her name on it. "I wasn't sure if it was real at first, but now I know the truth. . ."

Jesse McCree stood there, almost frozen like a statue as he tried to process the news he was given. 

"Jesse, my mother is still out there somewhere," Fareeha continued. "I called you because I wanted to tell you that she's still alive and that. . . I want you to help me find her,"

Jesse's gaze shifted to the wooden floorboards as he stepped back, sitting down on the edge of his bed as he ran his metal fingers through his hair. 

"I want Overwatch's help in finding her and bringing her home," 

". . . I'm in," Jesse spoke, regaining his voice as he glanced up at the screen, slowly nodding his head. "I'll help you find your mom,"

"Me too," I added, placing a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "We all will," 


	31. Fareeha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team holds a meeting on what to do with discovering that Ana Amari is alive.

"David, sweetie, when's Hope coming home?"

A female voice echoed across the room as Dave or "David" Ivery made final preparations for tonight's dinner in the kitchen of his apartment home. He had invited his parents over for dinner tonight, and he should have known they would have questions about their younger offspring. 

As Dave manuvered the food onto each of the three plates he glanced over at a photo he kept on the side of the fridge next to one of the kitchen counters. It was a photo of him and Hope posing in front of a golden statue of a warrior from World of Warcraft during their trip to Blizzard World. The photo was taken the summer after Hope had moved in with him, and not just 4 months after that she packed her bags and went off to work with the recently recalled Overwatch. 

Well,  **illegally** recalled Overwatch. 

"Soon," he muttered to himself. "Just a little longer," 

He wanted to support his sister in her new career, but given the state Overwatch is in with the United Nations right now, the last thing he wanted to happen was for her to get into serious trouble. It was just announced on the news this morning that the United Nations would be opening a debate to discuss the future of the Petra Act. 

"What?" The mother perked up. 

"Soon!" Dave repeated as he jumped in his spot. He picked up two of the plates, placing one along his arm before picking up the third with his free hand and began to make his way out of the kitchen. "I'm sure she won't be long," 

Just as he was passing a window, a shine of a glimmer caught his eye as if he were to become temporarily blinded from it. He spotted, shifting his body down slightly as he peered through the glass. This window overlooked the far end of the pier, another building that's in the middle of construction was across from it. He watched as giant plastic coverings blew in the window as snow gently flew from the sky. 

Dave shook his head, removing himself from the strange trance. "Probably just a bird," 

He straightened his back and continued his venture to the living room. 

What he didn't see was just beyond the tarp was a camouflaged sniper rifle, armed and ready. It's operate knelt beside the weapon, peering through the scope. 

Watching. . . 

Waiting. . . 

"The performance is about to begin," 

********* 

"Captain Amari is alive?!" Lena gasped, bolting up from her chair in the living room so quickly it nearly fell over. 

After helping McCree calm down a bit, we decided to have a team meeting in the living room of the castle. Everyone was present, including Fareeha Amari who appeared via face cam on the TV up against the wall above the fire place. 

I glanced up at the screen, briefly studying her appearance one more time. Fareeha Amari was the daughter and only child to Captain Ana Amari and her husband, who Hope had learned early on was Sam. Fareeha grew up in the Swiss base for most of her life. When she was denied admission to work with Overwatch, and after her mother was supposedly M.I.A., Pharah moved to the United Stations where she joined the FBI and annually visited her father who coincidentally lived in Canada. After a few years of decorated service, Fareeha was invited to join Helix Security International at their base of operations in Cario, Egypt, her mother's old stomping grounds. 

"This can't be. . ." Reinhardt's eyes widened, completely astonished by the news as he ran his fingers through his air, trying to process this new information as he relentlessly sat on the sofa next to Bridgette and Torbjorn. "How can this be?!"

"Lucio and I discovered the news, with some help with Doctor Zieglar," I nodded in confirmation. Tapping the screen of my wrist communicator, I displayed holographic displays of all the news articles, medical records, police sightings, everything Sombra sent me about the Shrike, a.k.a. Captain Ana Amari. "Her information and whereabouts were given to me by Sombra as my  _reward_ for helping her track Miss Aleksandra Zaryanova back in Numbani," 

I glanced over at Jesse who leaned against the side wall, his head tilted to the floor so his hat covered most of his face. While he was a bit more calm now, I knew he was still trying to process everything. I sulked at the sight, feeling awful about the whole situation. 

"A Talon agent forced you to spy on someone for them?" Brigette questioned, head tilted to the side. 

"I didn't like doing it one bit, but yeah. . ." I sighed in frustration, "That's what happened," 

"Has Sombra's notes indicated that Captain Amari got in touch with anyone after she went rogue?" Genji spoke up, standing next to his master who hovered in the air, legs crossed. 

"There's been rumours that she's been spotted in the same sightings as Soldier: 76, but as for the two of them actually working together, there hasn't been any solid evidence to back up that statement," Lucio answered, arms crossed over his chest as his eyes narrowed at a mugshot of the Shrike. 

"But she has made direct contact to someone recently, yes?" Torbjorn pursued, glancing over at the TV screen with a  look on his face, "That is why I'm assuming you are here with us today?" 

"I wish I could have called you all during better circumstances," The Egyptian woman admitted, lowering her head slightly in dismay before lifting it up, putting on a small smile in the Swedish man's direction. "It is good to see you Torbjorn, you too Reinhardt," 

"Fareeha, do you feel comfortable reading your mother's letter to us?" Angela questioned, looking up at the TV screen. 

The daughter of Captain Amari nodded her head as she reached over off screen, pulling a sheet of paper towards her. She held it near her face, taking some time to compose herself before beginning to recite the message. 

**"My dearest Fareeha,**

**Every mother hopes for a better life for her daughter. I was willing to fight and die for it. I taught you that there was nothing more important than protecting the ones you love. . ."**

I took a glance over at the team, scanning their faces as they all listened attentively to the letter. I then lowered my own head, closing my eyes as I pictured myself, my brother Dave, and my parents all huddled together as if we were taking a group photo together. Smiles all around. We looked so happy. 

**"You grew up surrounded by heroes. They filled your head with stories and adventure, and dreams of glory. One day, you wanted to join them, but it was not the life I wanted for you. . ."**

I looked back at all the times I'd glee about Overwatch as kid. Whether it be bringing up something I heard about them on the news, gossip at school, or asking about the night my grandparents passed away, my parents, mostly my father, would immediately shut me down. My father grew up with Overwatch, well, not born into the Overwatch "family" so to speak like Fareeha was. But he was there. To think; if my parents didn't leave Overwatch that day, would things be different now? 

**"I never told you about the weight I carried from all those I killed to keep everyone safe, but I always did what was asked of me. Until one day, I could not take the life needed to. I hesitated, and everything changed. . ."**

"Lacriox. . ." I could just barely hear Lena mutter a faint whisper of the Talon assassin's name as I peaked over at the young woman, leaning forward in her chair, arms on her knees as her eyes narrowed down at not particular object on the coffee table in front of her. 

**"The people I was suppose to protect died, and I was left behind gravely wounded. The world believed that I was dead, I thought that it was for the best. I've lost so much in my life. I've said goodbye to so many friends. I've buried the ones closest to me. But for all that I've lost, I know that there are still people who need to be protected. . ."**

My mind quickly thought back to my family. The photograph suddenly flashed, as if the camera was taking a picture. The image revealed itself, showing that more people had gathered in the photo. Two shadows hovered on either side of the us. One male, the other female. A dark cloud was cast over us, the expression on my parents changed from happy go lucky to pain and agony. The faces on myself and my brother stayed the same. 

We lived our lives without knowing what actually happened to Jeffery and Bethany when they died, and how. But our parents did. They had to live with that and bury it down in a hole so deep just so the two of us could be safe and try to live a normal life. 

My eyes began to water, my throat turning dry. I thought I was having some sort of attack, I wanted to cry out. . . until the picture in my mind flashed again. My grandparents were gone, along with my parents and brother. At first it was just me in that picture, but then the dimmed light slowly began to shine brighter, and I could see new silhouettes taking shape.

It was the Overwatch team. All of my new friends, my new family. My family. . . I'm doing all of this to protect them, aren't I? 

**"So I cannot stop fighting, not yet. Not while there are still people waiting for me. One day, I hope you'll understand. Your mother, Ana."**

Silence filled the air as a still tenseness lingered, my heart beating just a bit quicker than normally as I rose my head up, looking up at everyone. Everyone's reaction to the letter was similar. Not exactly looking at anything in particular. They all just focused on Fareeha's voice and listened. 

"My mother is still out there somewhere. She's so close and yet. . ." Fareeha's grip on the letter tightened, growling under her breath as her teeth clutched together. 

"So far?" Jesse added, finally speaking up as he rose his head towards the screen. 

Fareeha met his gaze as her face softened slightly, ". . . Yes," she spoke, her voice a lot more calming than a few seconds ago. 

"You spoke to McCree asking for him to help you find Mrs. Amari," Zenyatta recalled. 

Fareeha nodded her head in confirmation. "Yes, in fact I wanted to ask the help of all of you to help me find her," 

"Does Helix know?" Winston asked. "Surely the letter had to go through their security process before being given to you," 

Fareeha shook her head. "It didn't go passed regular security measures. Someone snuck it in my room, most likely through the window. Only selected few know about this within Helix's walls. Mostly my team. If my mother truly is fighting out there I want this done under the radar," 

"That's where I come in," Jesse pushed himself up from the wall, hands placed along his belt. "I wasn't put into Blackwatch for nothing," 

"You may require backup," Hanzo volunteered as he crossed his arms over his broad chest whilst stepping closer to McCree. 

"Suppose another mission with you couldn't hurt, Archer," Jesse teased with a wink. 

"Another ex-yakuza? What exactly did I miss since I left?" Fareeha exclaimed with surprise. 

"I'll catch ya up on everything once we get there," The cowboy reassured with a tip of his hat. 

"I'll come too. I feel like this is kind of my fault all of this is happening, and I should help clean it up," I offered. "Who knows? Maybe if I dig around in the Sombra Protocol it might give us more information that Talon is hiding about the Captain," 

"I don't see why not," Jesse shrugged. 

"I politely disagree," Hanzo interjected, waving his hand. 

"What?" I gasped, my mouth gaped open at the sudden recommendation. "But, Hanzo--" 

" **Īe** , I don't believe you going on this mission is the wisest idea," Hanzo explained. "Hope, Talon knows who you are. They've hacked your electronic devices and have threatened you, including members of your family. Who's to say we won't run into them while in Cario and they go after you directly this time?" 

"I'm incline to agree with Hanzo," Genji stepped in, walking towards the duo. "Hope, you've only begun your training. A week, at least. Forgive me if I sound harsh, but that's  **mada mada**." 

" **Mada mada**?" I repeated, looking confused. 

"Not good enough," he answered. 

My eyes widened at the denial that was bestowed upon me. I stepped forward, raising a hand towards them, "But Sensei---"

"I'm sorry, Hope," Winston's voice perked up. His calm baritone vocals pierced my ears as I froze in place, standing there for a moment before turning my body to face the scientist. "But after what happened in Numbani, perhaps it may be best for you to sit this one out," 

"Ah-- How about this; I'll stay out of the fighting this time, and just focus on being tech support!" I suggested. Chuckling nervously, I rubbed the back of my neck with one hand, the other resting on my hip. "That can work, right?" 

Everyone was quiet as every single pair of eyes stared at me. I glanced over at Jesse, my eyes pleading, no begging, to let me tag along. 

"Jesse. . .?"

"I--" Jesse exchanged looks between me and the Shimada Brothers, leaning back against the wall as he cupped his chin. "I don't know, kid. . ." 

"Since Fareeha has specifically asked you to help in finding Ana Amari, I'm making you the Strike Team leader for this mission," Winston advised. "It's your call, McCree," 

The cowboy glanced up at Winston before finally turning his attention back to me. 

"Let me go with you, Jesse. This could be another chance for me to learn more about my grandfather," I eagerly persuaded. "She could have seen something that Reinhardt didn't during that mission!" 

Jesse walked closer towards me, gently placing his hands along my arms. He stared at me for a solid minute before his expression grew soft and his voice lowered as he spoke sincerely, "I'm sorry," 

My eyes widened at the cowboy as I swore I could hear my heart break in to. 

"Hanzo and the others have a point. If Talon does know who you are, chances are they'll go out and gun for you the second they find you," he added. 

I stared into McCree's eyes as I curled my lips into my mouth, fighting back a tear that was threatening to burst. ". . . Awesome," 

"Hey, hey, it's nothing personal, Ivery, honest," Jesse attempted to soothe, stroking his hands up to my shoulders, trying to meet my gaze again. "Tell you what, the second we find Captain Amari, I'll ask her about Jeffery for you. How does that sound?" 

Out of the corner of my ear I could vaguely hear Fareeha utter my last name. I could feel my mood immediately going south. I didn't want to give Jesse the cold shoulder. He was trying to compromise given my situation and I admire him for that. But that's not exactly what I wanted to hear. 

I felt my phone vibrate inside my pant pocket. I know now might not have been the absolute best time to look at it, but at this point, I didn't want to look at Jesse's face anymore. I reached down and pulled it out, glancing down at the screen to see a text message from my brother. 

**"Hey! Parents are wondering when you're coming down for the holidays?" - Dave**

_That's right. . . Christmas is in a couple weeks._

"Peachy," I answered, glancing up and meeting McCree's gaze one last time. "The only down side is that I wanted to be the first person to hear about what happened,"

Jesse was stunned, and before he could even mutter another word out of his mouth I gently brushed his hands off of me as I excused myself from the room, shuffling as quickly as I could. He called out to me as Lucio sprang up from his chair, ready to race after me but a large hand swiftly cut him off as he looked up and met Reinhardt's gaze. 

"I didn't know Joseph had a daughter as well. . ." Fareeha spoke, appearing to be at a loss for words. 

"Should we go after her and see if she's okay, Papa?" Bridgette asked, glancing down at her dwarf father who sat next to her. 

The engineer scratched his head, humming in disarray before he looked up at his best friend. "Reinhardt?"  

Reinhardt appeared tired, a bit lost even. "No," everyone turned their heads to face him. "She needs time," 

Down the hall, I tried to fight the tears that raced down my face but my efforts failed me. I had enough energy to make it up the stairs and halfway through the hall of the dorm. I never made it to my room. I legs caved as I faltered to the side, my back sliding down against a wall before I collapsed on the floor. Knees huddled close to my chest, I curled into a ball and just. . . cried. I cried my eyes out for who knows how long. 

I sniffled, pulling myself together just barely enough to bring my phone back out again, reading the message from my brother. I tapped the screen, a virtual keyboard appearing as I typed in my reply. 

**"How soon do you want me down there?" - Hope**

I tapped the send button and I could feel my head starting to spin and my eyes beginning to blur. I don't know if it was the fatique of Hanzo and Genji's training from this morning, or the emotional shock I experienced just a few minutes ago, but one minute I was awake. . .

The next, darkness. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any questions, you can find me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/maddieautobot273


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